[Kübler-Ross | Stage Two | Anger]

[daretodo]

The kitchen table's been overturned and the splintered remnants of a chair are scattered across the floor, along with broken plates and glasses, silverware. In the living room, a bookshelf's collapsed in on itself, the end table responsible for its destruction still hanging through the slats of one of the shelves. One of the couches has been torn

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[daretodo]

In other circumstances, I might have felt some sense of embarrassment, but there's none of that, now. I don't have to explain myself to him or anyone else, and I definitely don't have to stand here in my own house and be judged for how I'm choosing to cope with an impossible situation. I press my free hand to my chest, and through my shirt, run my fingers over the raised scar tissue that's still there months after the fact; Tony's done worse

[daretodo]

"Right," I say, coughing out a dry, bitter laugh. There are other people he could ask -- people with guns, for example -- but I'm primed for a fight, and he's likely already thought of that, anyway. The phrasing, though, leaves something to be desired.

"You do realize how ridiculous that sounds?"

[notawastedlife]

"...no?" said Tony, pausing to glance at Peter, before resuming his work. "Which part?"

[daretodo]

"Not the credible threat part," I clarify, frowning. Even though I don't cart around any traditional sort of weaponry, I don't know that I'm the guy you really want to stumble across in a back alley, anyway. Maybe I'm not the strongest or the toughest -- facts that hold doubly true here -- but I'm not helpless, either. "Just... The part about the Vespa. I mean, if you're going to market a security system, that's... Really not that confidence inspiring -- 'withstands Vespa attacks.'"

[notawastedlife]

"Would you prefer 'Spiderproofed'?" Tony said. "None of this is actually going on the packaging. Or the market. Personal use."

[daretodo]

"To guard the scrapyard, right," I say, nodding slightly. I'm already hoping that the prototype isn't up to the job if only because destroying something that can fight back is, admittedly, very appealing right about now. "'Manproofed' would be more accurate. The only walls I'm crawling are metaphorical."

[notawastedlife]

"Let's settle for combat tested," Tony said, "'Manproofed' makes it sound like I sat the thing down with a set of feminist manifestos."

[daretodo]

I actually let out a laugh at that, a real one. It doesn't last very long, just a short exhale, but considering I thought such a thing was impossible as late as about five minutes ago, it's something. I cover my mouth with my hand, and when I drop it, the hint of a smile is gone.

"The bookshelf might be more helpful, in that case."