Peggy Carter prided herself on being able to stand fast in the face of things that may faze others, but she thought she could be given a little leeway in her new predicament
( Read more... )
"What's with the grandpa music?" Tony said, pausing on his way in to try and fish some reference material out of the bookshelf.
He turned and studied the people in the room. No, no... bingo was his name-o.
"From an older time period," he said, clicking his fingers and pointing at her. "Always something to do with who's in the room. Someday I'll work out if it's automatic or just... creepy."
The man spoke in a way that simply assumed he would be listened to when he talked, with none of the steel behind it that most military officers who made themselves heard possessed. It was simple confidence and expectation, and loathe as Peggy was to do so, she looked up to see who was speaking, catching his gesture in time to realize his words were aimed at her.
"We don't call it an older time period," she said, eyes narrowing slightly as she thought of Howard. There were many people who looked alike, and Howard Stark didn't necessarily have a memorable face. It was the attitude and manner this man held himself that brought him to mind. "It's simply the present."
Tony considered this, then nodded. "Point. Older... contextually," he said, "assuming you're even from the same universe with a similar timeline. There were a few assumptions in there, they seem to be paying out. Earth? 19 something low."
"The calendar's a little... arbitrary, someone picked a number," Tony said, absently dragging out a seat and sitting, peering at the map. "2009. Man of the future. From your perspective. Well, most people's, really."
He did have a groundbreaking power source glowing away merrily in his chest.
Peggy made a noncommittal noise. "Most people's? From what I've gathered, most of the island inhabitants seem to come from the same twenty year span of time." Whether they were all from the same universe was another question entirely. "What makes you special?"
"..you are new," Tony said, nodding to himself to confirm. He sat back in his chair and added, with supreme confidence it had meaning, "I'm Tony Stark."
Although if that was going to mean something, she would have recognized him. "...you'll hear about me."
"Stark?" Peggy was normally in control of her feelings and reactions, but some things stormed the defenses and left one utterly stunned. No wonder he'd reminded her so much of Howard; the closer she looked, the more similarities she found.
Tony's look was something of a mirror of hers. It was not a reaction he had entirely anticipated. He should have, he supposed.
"...you've heard of him," he said, recovering quickly. As far as visible response went, anyway. "Well, you would have, he did a lot for technology in those days. Your days. Think that, only better."
"I worked closely with him," she corrected, sitting back in her seat and abandoning posture in favor of processing the new information. "He's something of a friend."
"It is not," Peggy said firmly, lips thinning out as her displeasure at Tony's question wrote itself on her face. Even if she'd been looking for romance at that point in her life (and had she never met Steve, of course), Howard Stark would have been far from her choice in men.
"He had plenty of other women to be euphemistic with," she said, distaste evident.
His eyebrows crept up a little. He was not immediately sure how to take this fact.
"...that's more information about my father's euphemistism levels than I expected to get this morning," he said. He pulled his eyebrows back down, curling his mouth to the side as if he'd just taken a literal bite of something and couldn't decide how he felt about it. "Good... for... him? Mark that one down as heritable."
"I'd rather not." Eager to move away from the topic and sure Tony would be as well, Peggy tried pinning down similarities between father and son. "You look just like him, I'm sure you've heard."
"Less so when I'm from," Tony said, a very faint twist to his mouth. Again, he wasn't entirely sure how to take that. "1943. He'd have been younger than I am."
"Yes, it appears he was." Howard often looked as though he were a boy playing with his father's toys, which made the intelligence behind his facade all that more impressive. "Did you inherit Stark Industries?"
She highly doubted Howard was still alive during Tony's time (neither was she, and she didn't want to think of it), and surprisingly enough, the thought caused her a slight pang of grief.
He turned and studied the people in the room. No, no... bingo was his name-o.
"From an older time period," he said, clicking his fingers and pointing at her. "Always something to do with who's in the room. Someday I'll work out if it's automatic or just... creepy."
Reply
"We don't call it an older time period," she said, eyes narrowing slightly as she thought of Howard. There were many people who looked alike, and Howard Stark didn't necessarily have a memorable face. It was the attitude and manner this man held himself that brought him to mind. "It's simply the present."
Reply
Reply
Reply
He did have a groundbreaking power source glowing away merrily in his chest.
Reply
Reply
Although if that was going to mean something, she would have recognized him. "...you'll hear about me."
Reply
"Was your father Howard Stark?"
Reply
"...you've heard of him," he said, recovering quickly. As far as visible response went, anyway. "Well, you would have, he did a lot for technology in those days. Your days. Think that, only better."
Reply
Reply
Reply
"He had plenty of other women to be euphemistic with," she said, distaste evident.
Reply
"...that's more information about my father's euphemistism levels than I expected to get this morning," he said. He pulled his eyebrows back down, curling his mouth to the side as if he'd just taken a literal bite of something and couldn't decide how he felt about it. "Good... for... him? Mark that one down as heritable."
Reply
Reply
Reply
She highly doubted Howard was still alive during Tony's time (neither was she, and she didn't want to think of it), and surprisingly enough, the thought caused her a slight pang of grief.
Reply
Leave a comment