wintershepherd | [TUSHANSHU] IC Inbox

... Tony?

[ He leans forward at the screen as though it will somehow give him a better angle -- it won't, Tony's camera is fixed like all of them are -- but the instinct is there. Still, the horizontal view was decent so if no part of the feed was picking the man up, either he was on the ceiling or... ]

... are you on the floor?

Huh?

[ If ever a pause has given off the sense of uncertainty, this one does. ]

Yep. Looks like.

[ A quiet rustling noise drifts up upward from the floor, and after a minute, a disheveled head appears from beneath the edge of the video. Tony blinks at the screen, looking blearily at it like he's never seen it before. ]

Hey, you're not the pizza guy, are you?

[ Jack opened his mouth to retort it looks like the last thing you need right now is pizza but instead he swallows a sigh. ]

Uh, yeah. I am. You forgot to give me your address before, how am I supposed to deliver this thing?

S'not my job. Directions are JARVIS' job. Which you failed at, by the way. I should fire you.

[ He doesn't think there's anything bizarre about switching targets of his comments in the middle of speaking. There's a long-suffering murmur from JARVIS, too quiet to make out anything but the tone, and then Tony's focused on the screen again. ]

Fire. Three-A. If you get here snappy, I'll double your tip. Oh, and don't forget the beer.

Right, right.

[ So not even bringing you beer, Jack rolled his eyes, gathering his staff and pushing open the window of his treehouse, taking to the air. A quick stop at one of the kedan bakeries (he'd searched before, high and low, for equivalent because Leo had also asked) and still made it to 3A in a time that would have impressed any delivery driver. ]

[ It takes a little more effort to get completely off the floor, but the sound of someone at the door with the requested foodstuffs - Tony knows he requested it from someone - is motivation aplenty. He staggers over, fishing some money out of his pocket, and opens the door.

Jack and the pizza get an equal share of the big smile that breaks across Tony's face. ]

That was quick. Thanks guy. Here. [ He holds out the money: 50 juulan. ]

[ It registers briefly -- startlingly, though he'll have to process it properly later -- that Tony is actually looking at him before the juulan is shoved at him and the pizza taken, though Jack jabs the end of his staff in the door so it can't close before the man is able to shut it on him. ]

You're really drunk.

[ He's halfway to turning around to cart the pizza back to the desk, forget closing the door, when he turns and shakes his head. ]

Tony. I'm Tony. Really Drunk is... No, actually, I don't know who that is.

[ Seeing that Tony didn't seem like he was about to fall down (again), Jack stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He felt a little shady taking advantage of the man's inebriated state but... if he could see him, why not? ]

So you're having a one-guy party in here?

That depends how you define guy. Technically, it's me and JARVIS. And the Furbies. Tibbles. Whatever.

[ He sets the box on the desk, starts to open it, then belatedly remembers that having people over means being a host. Or something. ]

Here, want some? I can share. Don't tell your boss. Do you want something to drink?

At least they're not Gremlins.

[ Well, it IS technically an invitation... ]

Yeah, sure. Cold pizza is a staple of something anyway. But I'll pass on the drink, thanks.

I sprayed them with water when I got them. Just to be sure. Have seat. Make yourself comfortable. Whole nine yards.

[ He waves an absent hand at the room and wanders off to go get himself another drink. Just because he has company is no excuse to stop drinking. ]

[ Jack does, perching on the arm of the couch with the long crook balanced horizontally across his lap and taking a slice of pizza. It cools almost immediately in his grasp but pizza is still pizza and the spirit of winter is still a teenage boy. ]

Mm, thanks. So are you celebrating kicking off a new project or something?

[ He's back a moment later with a full glass, and he snags a piece of pizza before tossing himself haphazardly into a chair. How he manages not to spill his liquor all over himself is anyone's guess. ]

Don't need a project to celebrate. Don't even a reason to celebrate. Drinking's something you can do just for the hell of it.

[ And to emphasis that point, he knocks back about half the glass in one long swallow. ]

[ Jack chews and swallows another bite of pizza. It's pretty good, for a kedan equivalent. He's filched pizza slices from all the big cities, when no one was looking (not that they could have seen him anyway) and compared them. He once tried to talk to the Johnny Appleseed about it and gotten a friendly whack upside the head and handed a Granny Smith instead. ]

I guess not. What is your latest project, anyway?

Who says I have a project?

[ It's hard to tell if it's curiosity or suspicion that drives the question. Tony doesn't know and his slowly pickling brain doesn't help. ]

Maybe it's top secret. Need to know only. I probably can't even mention that I have one.

[ Because you always had a dozen projects at any given time, Jack thinks. ]

Just a hunch, that's all.

What can be so top-secret here, though?

That's exactly my point. This is the perfect place for secrecy.

[ He waves an expansive hand. ]

It's like one of those small towns where everybody's in everybody else's business.

[ Jack chuckled a little, reaching for another slice of pizza. ]

Yeah, it is just like that when you think about it. Who knew we'd end up bringing that here? So... things are okay here for you?

[ Are you okay? ]

[ Things are terrible, but he smiles like they're not and takes a drink, half lifting the glass in salute. ]

Never better. How're they treating the pizza delivery guy?

It's all right. New things happening every day.

[ Today you can see me. Who knows about tomorrow? ]

I should let you get back to your pizza and... drinking.

Sure thing.

[ He raises his glass in a toast and stands up to walk him to the door. ]

Thanks for the speedy delivery. You saved my stomach.

You're welcome, Tony. I'm glad I could help.

[TUSHANSHU] IC Inbox

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject