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Summary: As a thank you for writing such a lovely thank you note, Tony picks up Rashmi from Barnes to get her out of her confinement for a bit of fun. They stop at a comic book shop to pick up Tony's saved out things and happen to run into several of Rashmi's friends. Once Tony and Rashmi leave the Comic Shop for the mall they come upon Lucas.
Date: August 7, 2010
Log Title: Comical Gathering
Rating: PG
NYC- Salem Center and surrounding area
Despite being blind, Tara is a fairly independent girl who isn't afraid of venturing out to Salem on her own. Of course this means that she'll have to take her cane with her and pretend to be more blind than she actually is but she's had years of practice to pull that one off. Today's jaunt into Salem has her visiting a hole in the wall comic book shop that, amongst other things has tons of anime on DVD. This place has become her supplier of the only real video obsession she has: Yaoi.
It had taken a few days after receiving the thank you note that Rashmi had sent for Stark to come up with a plan of action. Earlier in the day he had called over to Barnes to extend an invite for a day out of the secure facility for the young woman. Of course there were dissenting voices but what better security for a young lady hounded by a madman than Iron Man himself?
After the staff at the school relented, Tony chose to drive over in his silver Dodge Charger, the only car he had in NY without a Stark license plate. He was downstairs leaning against the passenger side of the car with his arms folded across his chest. Tony was wearing jeans, tennis shoes and a t-shirt that said 'I'm with Genius' that had an arrow pointing upward. With a quick call to the staff to announce his arrival he fidgeted with his shades before heading into the school to wait for Rashmi.
One of the dissenting voices, initially, was Rashmi herself. However after the Barnes staff grudgingly relented, she in turn was talked into emerging from custody for this excursion. Under normal circumstances, such an argument would still be difficult to sell… But, Rashmi has been *bored* in the days since the party, and it was with vague, lingering misgivings that she agreed. Thus it is that she makes her way into the main lobby in a green cotton blouse and dark grey ankle-length skirt, bookbag resting against her hip, bobbing her head as she approaches the industrialist. "Um… Hi, Mr. Stark."
Tara is greeted by friendly voices of the staff of the comic book shop as she wanders in. She smiles and waves a hand in their general direction, and wanders over to the counter. "Is it in?" she asks, trying to hold down her excitement.
Tony smiles one of those thousand-watt grins when he sees Rashmi approaching down the hallway, "Afternoon Rashmi!" He knows that several of the students are watching from nearby areas but ignores them in favor of offering to take her bag for her. "I thought that I would thank you for your note to me personally. Since I extended the party invite to you, and failed to be available all night I thought I might make it up to you." When they reach the doors he opens it and steps outside to hold it open for her. "I thought we could maybe hit a comic shop, perhaps grab terrible mall food, and see where to go from there, if you don't get terribly bored with me."
Rashmi flushes, ducking her head and chuckling. "Oh, you didn't have to do that, Mr. Stark. I mean, just being at that party was incredible enough, you know?" The bookbag is surrendered, however, and the girl shows little hesitation in following Tony to the door, bobbing her head in thanks as Tony does the gentlemanly thing. "Honestly…? I'm *pretty sure* we could be going sightseeing on the GWB, and it couldn't be boring. Not with you around, at any rate."
The proprietors of the comic book shop grins at the girl and turns around rummage around a drawer that they use to collect new shipments. He holds aloft a boxed set of DVD's and announces, "Here it is!" Tara all but squeals in delight, "Junjou Romantica season one! Eee!"
Even though for all intents and purposes Tony looks casual, he's actually keeping a very good eye out for anything going on. When they reach the car he puts Rashmi's bag in the backseat and opens the passenger door for her. "Consider it just an excuse to break you out of the school for awhile. Personally, I can't stand being cooped up for hours let alone days." Tony rounds the car to slip into the drivers seat. As he does the engine flares to life, and the on board computer systems wink on in the next moment as the Avenger locks his seat belt into place. Once Rashmi is settled in they would take off towards the Salem Center making the pit stop off at the comic shop before heading to the mall.
"Neither can I, really," Rashmi says, once buckled in and they're underway. "But you saw what happened in your building, and, well… If you couldn't do much to stop it from happening, dealing with something like the attack in Mutant Town? That's a pretty good argument for keeping your head down, you know?" As the car passes out of NYC proper, and into the suburbs surrounding Salem Center, the girl's eyes seem to light up. Familiar territory! Maybe some of her friends will be around!
The comic shop is near the mall in a one story building that looks like its seen better days. Once they are out of the car he apologies for what happened at the towers not too long ago. "At least the hound went down, and you got to ride around in Jen's flying car before it crapped out on her." The door is opened, and they are able to enter the shop to take a look around, but Tony is here specifically to pick up whatever has been collecting dust in his box for over a month. "Are you into comics? Games?"
Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear! Well, this one is not a devil, nor does he appear from anywhere. It's really just Connor. Stepping out of the Old Navy with a bag in one hand from the store, and the other hand from Gamestop. Stacking the smaller into the larger, he turns and makes his way towards the comic book shop too, checking his email on his phone for the current list available that he's supposed to pick up today. With the weather the way it is, he's dressed down to a t-shirt, over shirt, khaki shorts, and leather walking sandals.
Tara's voice can be probably heard from all the way outside as she babbles on about how totally awesome it is that she finally got the boxed set of an anime that she can only listen to. "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this! Gimmegimmegimme!" she says waving her hand at the boxed set, trying to grab it from the counterperson. The guy, however, stands a good six inches taller than the girl and is holding it way over his head. "Not until you pay for it, first," he chides.
"Actually um, mostly I'm big on epic fantasy, myself… Lord of the Rings, Lloyd Alexander… That kind of thing, you know?" Her eyes wander over the store, however, because usually there's always *some* interesting fantasy comics, posters, general stuff that may or may not have been part of a DnD collection at some point… "But um… I'm just about willing to read anything once, honestly. Besides I— *Tara?!*" It's sort of difficult to mistake that squeal for anything else, when you've heard it breaking through the noise of pitched combat, and Rashmi's eyes all but physically light up as her head orients on the blind mutant.
Tony is about to comment on his love for all things Lord of the Rings when there is a squeal of girlish glee from nearby. He turns around to see a young woman with an arm raised in the air flailing for her dvd's. "Tara? You two know each other?" Tony asks Rashmi. "Why not go hang out, I'll probably be tied up a little bit carrying a box or so out to the car."
The squeal and countersqueal don't draw Connor's attention. That kind of noise one gets used to in public schools, or in places like this. He comes in off the mall entrance where the girls cannot see him for the moment, and moves to the counter, asking the man behind the counter, "I got the email telling me you guys had restocked Transmetropolitan? It didn't say what volumes though." And he's pointed towards the new arrival piles where things have not been put out on the shelf, "Cool thanks, man!" Back to the grrrrrl-moment he makes his way to the pile and begins to sort.
Tara's grabby hands pause when her name gets called out. The air pressure around Rashmi increases a bit as she checks out who called her name. Recognizing the voice and the shape of her ex-teammate she counter-squeals, "Rashmi!" The boxed set is all but forgotten as the blind girl launches herself at Rashmi, giving her a big hug. "How're you doing? I haven't heard you in AGES!"
"You're sure?" Rashmi asks Tony's retreating back, "I mean I don't want to just abandOOF!" A couple backpedaling steps are needed for the redhead to keep her balance as her blind ex-teammate gives her a ballistic welcome, but she manages to keep upright, laughing and hugging Tara back. "It's so good to see you too, Tara! Are things okay at school now?"
There's a chuckle from Stark as he hears the girls behind him. As he's at the counter he notices of all people, VOLK! When said man walks off to search through some comics Tony manages to get out that he's here for his box. For several moments he watches the young man flip through the comics in search of something. Clearly, the /brain/ of future Connor Blake had found its way back to the future, as far as he could tell from the way Connor was behaving. Tony is asked if he needs any help to the car, and he turns it down as he spots the box on the counter. "Be right back, Sam." With that Tony disapears to put the box out into the car then returns after a few minutes to walk over and sit down at one of the gaming tables to not intrude upon the girls.
Connor picks out the volumes he's missing from his collection, and then turns around to head towards the counter to pay for it. Stopping close by, he then goes for his wallet and digs out his debit card. Whistling a bit to himself he waits for the inevitable and then gets his bag back. Turning around… the young man ends up seeing his father's greatest idol. Tony Stark. He stops… and just gapes for a long moment before walking closer as he remains at the spot, "Hey… ummm… excuse me for asking… but you're Tony Stark, right?" There's none of the confidence, swagger, or seeming edge of anger within it. More like someone meeting someone famous, that sense of 'I could touch it' awe.
"If by /okay/ you mean /boring/, then yah," answers Tara, releasing the other girl. "I mean, other than having an ancient demon running around causing havok and this whole time travel business." She sighs, disappointedly. "I mean, if we're going to have time travel, why can't we have dinosaurs?"
"…Wrong direction," Rashmi says after a moment, with a weary sigh. "…Actually that's why you haven't heard from me lately… I've sort of been in protective custody. …I'm not supposed to be out right now, but um… Tony Stark sort of… convinced them he'd be okay to look out for me. So um… yeah… Tony Stark is sort of bumming around the store right now. Just in case you were interested?"
"The one and only," Tony smirks as the younger man stands nearby. Having not met the younger Connor he is curious to see how the teen is in comparison to the man he met in the Towers. "Pull up a folding chair if you want," he offers. Tony looks about the table and finds a box of dice that he starts sorting through to pick out all of the glow in the dark ones. He's not ignoring Connor at all, simply distracted by what was nearby, just a quirk of his.
Looking down and away from Tony, Connor's hands go into his pockets for several moments, and then he gulps once, a bundle of nerves. Expressing all the signs of someone who has potential social issues, eventually he moves around and sits down across from Tony, "Seriously, I know you get this all the time, but… could I get a picture of you? It's not for me, it's for my dad. He's such a big fan." Stopping and leaning in a bit, he then chuckles, "He's an aviation engineer, works for Boeing, working on vectored thrust designs for next generation medium-range multi-use aircraft." The words recited like they'd been heard a million times before, "It's hilarious, but he's got a newspaper clipping collection of the Avengers, but it's always when a Quinjet's in the frame."
Tara stops, eyes going wide. "Tony Stark? Here?" She starts casting her extra sensory power out to the rest of the building to see if she can figure out which person it is. "That's totally awesome. Where is he?"
"Um…." Rashmi's head turns, looking for Tony. Spotting him, the redhead blinks, smiling. "Actually… over there, by the card tables. With Connor! Hi Connor!" Her hand rises, waving across the store in the teenager's direction. *Two* friends! Listening to Tony Stark was a *good idea.*
"Ahh, the mark of a true scientist is when they zero in on the tech instead of the people in it," Tony is all grin at the moment, and doesn't mind mugging for a picture. It is when Rashmi calls out Connors name that he drops some of the dice he was playing with in one hand. "Hey, you two know each other?" Lifting a hand up from the table Tony waves Rashmi, and friend over. "If you want to hop into the photo for your dad, I'm sure Rashmi will take it for you."
Eyes go wide, and Connor gulps as he looks up and says, "Rashmi? Oh… I… if I'd known you were here, I'd have brought your present… wait… I can go get it… can everyone just…" Practically babbling as he looks back and forth before adding, "Hey Awesome Girl!" Laughing a bit at the concept before looking at Tony, and putting his hands out to forestall him from moving, "Please… just gimme… three minutes… I'll be back in three… I promise. Please Please Please, don't leave" And leaving his things on the table, he jogs out and across from the place to the bathrooms?
The ear piercing squeal of an excited Tara reverberates around the room again as the girl goes bounding down the aisles to meet the famous Tony Stark. "Ohmygod!" she says when she hears him speak. "It really IS Iron Man!"
"I… um… present? Oh! Right! Well you don't… need to…. get…. erm…." Whatever Rashmi was about to say, made more or less moot as Connor makes a mad dash out of the store. Shaking her head and chuckling to herself, she wanders after Tara, grinning at her friend's boundless enthusiasm. "Tony Stark? This is Tara Kincaid, a friend of mine from school. And, um… don't worry about Connor, he'll be back… well, probably quicker than you think."
Tony leans back in his metal folding chair, "Pleasure to meet you Miss Kincaid. Please, join the table if you want, there's plenty of chairs to go around." The fact that Connor ran off didn't really phase the older man all that much as he was amused by the young mans nervousness. "I'm going to hang around here till Connor can get your present, and he whips out his cell or whatever to get a picture in. If a flock of people start to show up we may have to leave depending on how bad it gets," just an fyi from Stark to Rashmi.
Three minutes to the dot Connor comes back into the comic shop with a brown box that still has it's packing tape in place. Not even with a sweat on his brow, he passes the box to Rashmi. It's still got it's Amazon label on it, with his home address and everything, rather trusting in a public place, "I meant to give this to you before you left, but I accidentally ordered it home instead of to Xavier's. Forgive me?" Actually tinting in his cheeks before he moves to where he was sitting by Tony, "I… I really don't know what to say about the picture, Sir. But can Rashmi open her present first?"
"Eee! He spoke to me!" Tara says, clasping her hands together in excitement. She manages to regain control of herself long enough to extend a hand out to the Avenger and says, after clearing her throat, "The pleasure's all mine, Mr. Stark."
Rashmi tries hard, not to laugh at Tara. After all, this is one of Rashmi's *friends* making an embarrassing fangirl of herself. Patting Tara's shoulder, she nudges aside a chair for her, and circles around the table, nodding to Tony. "That's probably a good ide—um. Why would I need to forgive you?" Wide eyes drop to the package, then up to Connor. "I wasn't expecting presents anyway, why would I be upset that it got delayed?" Taking the package with a smile, she transfers it to one hand, leaning forward to give Connor a one-armed hug. "Still. Thank you, very much." And she drops into a chair with a grin, picking at the packing tape sealing the box shut.
Sitting forward in the chair Tony takes a hold of Tara's hand for a brief handshake, "As I said, nice to meet you, Tara. Attend Xaviers I take it?" With everyone now seated around him Tony relaxes back into the metal chair again with a glance across his shoulder at Connor. "I don't mind if Rashmi pops open her present but we're going to have to cut out of here in a few minutes. Places to disrupt, food to be consumed, you know how it is," Tony comments offhandedly as he watches to see what Rashmi unearths from the Amazon box.
Connor sits back in his spot, rocking for a moment as his hands go back into his pockets once more. As Rashmi unearths the present, inside is a PDA! Six inches tall and four inches wide with a rectangular screen, it looks like an oversized version of today's cellular phones. But the description on it speaks of being OS synch-capable, over 200 GB of space available, touchscreen interface… an overall nice mid-road model. Under it is a card. When the card is opened, it's the classic picture of a frog choking a crane as it's being eaten. And inside it simply says, -I hope you don't mind, but I loaded your favorites on… for the long trips and stuff. Always move forward. Connor.-
Tara is nearly vibrating from excitement. She leans over to Rashmi and hisses, "He touched me. I got to touch Iron Man." Clearly it doesn't take much to please the blind girl, and when Tony announces that they're going to have to leave soon, Tara can't help but sound her disappointment. "Awww. And you just got here, too."
The tape is pulled off, the lid bearing Connor's address torn off and handed over to the boy. Just in case, after all. Digging down into the packing, she pulls out the PDA box, and pulls in a sharp gasp. "*Connor!* What…. you didn't… but… I…." The card is picked up and read, at the same time the girl leans over to wrap her free hand tightly around Connor's shoulders. "Oh, it's *perfect!* Thank you *so much,* Connor, really!" The redhead, so excited she even manages to forget herself, and show the box to Tara.
Tony smiles as Connors gift has gone over well with Rashmi. Turns out to be a rather nice gift as well, "That particular model stands up pretty well." Of course he had to comment on a piece of tech, if he didn't then everyone should wonder if he was a clone. As for the bubbly young lady sitting across from him, he is regarding her with a curious expression masked by his dark shades. "I only really meant to stop by for a few minutes as my main goal involved hitting the food court before figuring out what to do with the rest of the afternoon. Don't tell anyone; I'd rather not get mobbed near the Cinnabon before I've managed to get a free sample."
Connor returns the hug and then tentatively offers the beginnings of a kiss on the cheek, but by then Rashmi has turned away and is showing off to Tara. With that, he rubs the back of his neck, and murmurs, "I… you're welcome, Rash. It's the least I could do." But then he's able to look up and back at Tony, before fishing out his phone, "Alright… well… about that picture before you go? If it's too much, then no worries… just talking to you is enough. Anyone ever told you you've got… well… It's like something in your eyes. It looks like you never stop thinking. I kinda… get that kinda thing. Something that as much as you like won't shut up." Chuckling slightly at the end as he tries to pass his phone to the girls for the shot.
"Oh, okay," Tara says, sounding a little down that she's not going to get to hang out with one of the world's greatest heroes for longer than she has. "Oh!" she says, realizing that he had asked her a question. "Yeah. I do go to Xaviers. I'm one of his 'special' students." And, yes, she put finger quotes around 'special.' Clearly she meant it to meant that she's a mutant. Others, however, can interpret it however they wish.
"No, Connor, it was like ten times more than you really had to, thanks," Rashmi says with a smile, taking the phone. "Tara, you want to be in one, too? I can probably get it printed so you can feel it. It's… well… not like I'm actually *doing* anything with the paychecks I'm getting, so it wouldn't be a problem." Scooting her chair back, she raises the phone's camera to eye level. "All right, well… Smile, everyone!"
"Don't worry about it, Connor, a picture is the least I could do," Tony says as Connor pulls out the cell phone. Seeing as the girls are distracted for a moment Tony puzzles over Connor's comment, "I know what you're trying to say, and I know where you're coming from Connor. The day I stop thinking is the day the world starts spinning backwards, and tilts on its axis. There are ways to deal with your thoughts running a hundred mph, but what works for me won't work for you necessarily. Just know that you can slow it down, and put a stop to it if you find the right thing."
As Tara speaks to him sounding a bit saddened Tony listens fully before replying, "If you want to tag along to the mall I'm not about to turn you away. As for the other, you're attending a very fine school, and I'm sure you will learn quite a bit while there." Just as he finishes his statement he notices that Rashmi has the cell up to take the picture. Tony tosses an arm around Connor, turns on the Stark Smirk, and flashes a peace sign at the camera.
Tara scoots away from Tony so that she isn't in the picture with Connor. After all, Connor's dad doesn't really need a picture of her. (Well. He /does/, but she doesn't want her own awesomeness to overshadow that of Tony's.) "I… really, really, really, REALLY want to, Mr. Stark," says Tara. "But I've got to pick up my anime and be on my way."
The young man barely keeps from turning red as one of the richest men in the world tosses an arm around his shoulder and treats him like a buddy. When the flash comes, Connor then waits for Tony to slip the grip and stands up to put a hand out to the man, "It's an honor Sir, but I don't want to take any more of your time here, and attract attention to you. I'm glad Rashmi's made such august friends in such a short time. And I'm grateful she's doing well. So… again… thank you." And with that he takes a moment to give Rashmi a last hug, "I need to go too… Have to drop these off at home, and then I was going to see if Hot Topic had one of the new Skellington shirts that Robyn's been bugging for. So… anyways… Later!" And with that he turns and starts walking towards the door.
Tara quickly goes over to pay for her boxed set, and, after grabbing the bag she rushes out the door. "Hey, Connor! Wait up!"
Rashmi blinks, as her friends seem to just scatter. "…Wow," she murmurs, shaking her head. "*That's* different… Mr. Stark, thank you so much for being so patient. I think you just made both of their months, you know?"
Tony chuckles as he watches the door to the shop swing shut. "I don't mind in the slightest, especially when it is friends of friends." Seeing as there is nothing left to be done in the comic book shop Tony removes himself from the gaming table, and makes sure that Sam already ran his card for the month. "You up for the mall still or would you like to venture off elsewheres? I am at your service today milady," Tony says with a very formal bow from the waist before stepping through the door to the shop and holding it open for her.
"…Actually a Cinnabon sounds really good," Rashmi answers, by now rather annoyed at how her cheeks just don't seem to want to cool down. "Seriously though, I can't thank you enough for doing all this. I mean, especially after all that's happened…" Pausing on her way out the door, she rests a hand on Tony's arm. "You're really a good person, Mr. Stark. No matter what anyone else may say, that's what I *know."
Tony is touched by Rashmi's words far more than she would be able to glean from his slight smile, and a hand coming up to cover her hand atop his arm. "Thank you for believing that I am," the Avenger says softly. "People driving cars into my home, and armed robots landing in my swimming pool is sorta the daily standard that I've gotten used to. At least I know you, and I won't run into any trouble getting a sugar smothered pastry from the mall. Well, no trouble other than getting stuck to a half dozen napkins afterward." The car unlocks from a distance, and he remains near her door till she's safely inside. One couldn't be too cautious these days!
Rashmi chuckles as she gets into the car, pulling the PDA out of its box and powering it up, trying not to squeal with delight. "That's sweet, Mr. Stark. To be honest, though? This is already the best day I've had in a long while. A Cinnabon… um… well, icing on the cake." Shaking her head at her own joke, she glances over at the older man, tilting her head. "I hope this makes up for the terrible time you had at your party?"
Tony sighs as he reverses the car out of the small parking lot to head over to the other side of the mall to park closer to where the Cinnabon was located. "I honestly don't count myself as attending that party at all. If you get to attend others you will notice that the host always ends up tangled up in something instead of actually cutting a rug, or tile." He smiles across his shoulder at Rashmi as they wait at a stop line that leads into the parking structure. "All that really matters is that things got sorted out, and here I am having a good time." Once they are heading into the mall he adds, "I'm glad you're having a good time, after all, you've had it pretty bad lately as well. Even if you made a terrible joke worthy of me!"
Rashmi shakes her head. "Oh I wouldn't say I've had it *bad,* Mr. Stark. Even when I was doing the whole running for my life thing, it was *still* better than dangling over a pit of fire watching my posessed boyfriend act like the kind of person he'd never be in his right mind, you know?" Bobbing her head in thanks as Tony holds the door open, she adjusts her bookbag, slipping the PDA inside… very, very carefully. "Ever since Christmas or so, things got *really* weird in cycles, kind of. So I sort of have to compare everything to that. The perspective helps, most of the time."
"Hmm, I really hope that the pit of fire thing didn't actually happen. It sounds like something I've had happen to me except with one of my ex-girlfriends and sub the pit for explosions. Or did that happen to numerous…never mind!" Tony laughs as they walk through the slightly crowded mall as it was the weekend. The smells of the Cinnabon are like a lure dragging Stark in the correct direction as he hasn't eaten probably in a day. "I need to get a few of these things to take back to my place but maybe we could grab a Jamba Juice too. Can't do one without the other in my opinion."
Lucas is carrying an American Eagle bag, wearing a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a wife beater. He has a necklace around his neck with a pendant that has a guitar pick mounted in it. He also has on shiny white gloves. He's distracted, walking with his head turned, watching a purple haired punk chick about his age who's maybe wearing a little less than she should in public.
Rashmi perks visibly at this. "That sounds like a *wonderful* idea, Mr. Stark, actually… So! I was wondering, by the way, how Theo's doing? He was never really happy at Xavier's, honestly, but I'm *really* glad that you gave him a job." Threading through the crowds at Tony's side, the sight of a familiar blond head catches her eye, and the idle chatter becomes but one of the things she's concentrating on, now.
Tony finds himself waiting in the que with Rashmi beside him, "Theo? I haven't seen him in awhile but I'm sure he's doing fine over at RnD, and hopefully he's over there learning everything that he can. I think Theo could have a real talent, and I hope that my people are able to help him along. I'd rather encourage him than have him held back like I was." In many ways he was considering he had to design specific things for his father which eventually lead him to taking over the company instead of tinkering away at things as much as he would like to. At the counter he orders a small box worth of the cinnamon rolls of various sorts and makes sure to get whatever Rashmi wants as well.
Lucas finishes ogling the girl, and then looks forward once more. He sees Rashmi, and his step pauses, for just an instant. He swallows, puts up a smile, and walks her way. "Hey Rash!" He looks at Stark, having no clue who he is. "New sugar daddy?" he asks, clearly being silly.
Rashmi freezes as her name is called out, paling slightly under her dark skin. "Um… Small one please, extra icing? And gimme a sec, Mr. Stark…" Arranging her features into a bright smile, she turns, trying not to take the crack personally. "Hi Lucas! Um, no, just a friend of Mrs. Walters… He's looking out for me so I can get out of school without anyone worrying too much about people coming from the future to kill me, or whatever… How've you been?"
Tony looks down at the box in his hands, and the two on the plate that are sitting atop it, then towards Lucas. He really would laugh but he'll just let it go in favor of waiting out the conversation. "Sugar Daddy," he mutters to himself while turning about to set the box down out of the way of people in line so he can yank out a collection of napkins.
Lucas nods, "Ah heard about the future thing," he says, awkwardly shuffling his feet and nervously shoving his left hand deep into his pocket, his right holding his bag. "Do you need anythin'? Ah mean, Ah reckon Ah could make some time if'n y'all are expectin' more attacks… Ah could maybe take a guard turn or somethin'…"
Rashmi shakes her head slowly, gesturing to the table. "No, it's fine… It's not like guard duty or anything… Just… sort of imagine the Academy, only with military and government backing. Anyway…" Waving a hand at Lucas, she attempts to inject a little cheerfulness into her voice. "Sir, this is Lucas, my ex-boyfriend… Lucas… I'd like you to meet—" And here she trails off, glancing left and right, leaning closer to Lucas and dropping her voice. "…Tony Stark."
Tony has his hands full at the moment but notices that he is supposed to be heading toward one of the open tables. "Hello Lucas, nice to meet you," he says warmly to the teen. Once the items have been set down atop the table he waves a hand toward an open chair. "Have a seat if you want, Lucas." With that Tony sets Rashmi's plate near an open chair, then sits down dragging his small plate in front of himself.
Lucas nods, but seems just a little disappointed at not being needed. "Sure, okay…" He looks at Tony, and his eyes move to his shoes, all the way up to the man's face. He's being sized up by the teen. "It's… you know, nice to meet you, Tony." He looks at Rashmi, then back at Tony. "So… What? Are you like, a teacher at Barnes or somethin'?" he asks, still having no idea who Tony Stark is. "Or a lawyer with Rashmi's firm?"
A pained look crawls across Rashmi's face, and the redhead draws in a deep breath. "Um, no, Lucas," she mutters, getting that look that Lucas always got when she wasn't sure if he was being accidentally dense, or deliberately. "Tony Stark… Owner of Stark Tower, and the big corporation… Starktech… and oh yeah, you know Iron Man?" Tony gets a nod.
Tony seems to be smiling around a forkful of cinnamon roll. This was actually rather amusing to the older man, especially after being once'd over. "I thought about bringing her here in the armor but you know, then I'd end up being dragged down to the Build-a-Bear to sign teddy bears with a ridiculously large marker."
Lucas turns and looks at Tony once again, once more sizing him up. "Iron Man?" He nods, and then looks back at Rashmi. "Well… Ah guess it's good for you." He clearly forces a smile, "Ah'm glad you traded up," he says, sincerely, but with a touch of discomfort. "Ah reckon Ah should let y'all enjoy your buns." He nods at Tony, preparing to head off.
Rashmi rolls her eyes as Lucas turns to leave, shaking her head and sighing. "Sorry, Mr. Stark… Ooone moment." Getting up from her chair, she hurries to catch up, grabbing Lucas by the shoulder briefly. "Hey," she says gently. "Stop that. it's not like that, okay? I've been practically in house arrest since a man showed up from the future to try and *kill me,* and the only way I could get out was under guard. I'm *still* terrified, thank you, and the only reason I'm even *here* is because it's *Iron Man* and not a bunch of undercover government watchdogs. Besides, Mr. Stark *has* a girlfriend and is just a *little* too old for me anyway, you know?"
Tony covers his face with a hand slowly dragging it downward across his go-t. He would have face palmed but he was wearing glasses after all! With his eyes on on the crowd Stark continues to pick at his cinnamon roll, and is comfortable enough in this environment to let Rashmi get a bit away from him. As she's talking to Lucas he's approached by a little boy who's recognized him and he happily poses for a picture.
Lucas sighs, looking at Rashmi. "Okay," he says, with a little huff. "Just… Be careful, will ya?" He seems actually concerned. "When Ah heard what happened…" He furrows his brow, and lays his hand on her cheek. "Just be careful. Okay?" He forces that little smile again.
Rashmi lifts her hands, resting them on Lucas' shoulders. "You too, okay?" she replies. "And I've been *wanting* to talk to you, actually. I wanted to say I'm sorry for being such a jerk, that night. I said a lot of things really wrong, and I hurt you when I didn't need to. I'm *sorry,* Lucas… And I want to know you're going to be okay. Because that much, you *do* deserve."
Lucas smirks, that confident, cocky grin. "Hey, it's me." He shrugs, "Ah'm alright. Ah'm almost able to turn off my hands for short periods now." He smiles, "Don't apologize. You were right." He leans forward and kisses her very gently on the forehead. "It's okay."
Rashmi lets out a quiet breath, nodding. "Okay… Thanks, Lucas. And be careful too, all right? I've seen what that Ahab guy can do… well. Sort of. I was mostly doing a lot of running away. But anyway," she says, shaking her head and getting back on track. "I'm glad I got to talk to you, but, I should be getting back, okay? Take care of yourself!" And with a brief squeeze and a bright smile, she turns away, hurrying back to the table. "Sorry about that, Mr. Stark. It… kind of needed doing."
Lucas stands there for a moment, watching her go. He stares, a little longer than maybe he should, nods a little to himself, and slowly turns, heading off.
Tony is trying to wipe off a few fingers with a napkin. "That was a very interesting meeting indeed. I don't mind the interruption but is everything ok?" There is genuine concern in his voice as he looks across the table at Rashmi as Lucas seems to be heading away from them. "I think we could set up a sorta obstacle course between here and the Jamba Juice before we head back to Barnes. Could be amusing to see if I can make it there if more of your friends pop up, and we get surrounded by kids and fanboys. Trick is to smile, and then run for your life while holding onto your vegetable smoothie."
Rashmi smiles in response, nodding once. "It's fine… I'm sure it's not the first breakup that was messier than it needed to be." The joke about the obstacle course, earning a grin from the redhead. "Well… I *do* have kind of quite a few friends, it could be a pretty long course." The bun, slipped into its bag. "So I guess we better get going now, mh?"
The pair made it to the Jamba Juice without anything untoward occurring. They even manage to wander into a shop or two on the way back to where the car is parked, with only a brief pit stop because a few people came over to Tony wanting something or another. All in all it was a good day for both of them as Rashmi was safely returned to Barnes and Stark headed home with a box of merch from the comic shop and a half dozen cinnamon rolls.
