bubblesong: 🐚 <lj user="bubblesong">. { dns } (frown 🫧 through the fields.)
ᒪITTᒪE ᗰEᖇᗰᗩIᗪ " ѕιяєη " | σℓ∂ тαℓєѕ ѕqυα∂. ([personal profile] bubblesong) wrote in [community profile] synthneon2025-05-15 08:25 pm

🫧 ー idk some marvel/nikke psl apparently we'll name later.

"It's Tony's birthday today. Now, he won't want you to make a big deal out of it. Don't even mention it. Because, last year was a disaster. I mean a huge disaster. He and Rhodey broke the house with suits! It was bad. Really bad. So, this year, he has to save face publicly. It's part of having your name on a company and having a Board of Directors. He needs to look good so they look good. So, a big fancy party that isn't here at the house. He'll probably make a flashy entrance because thats just Tony."

"... And you need me to stay here otherwise it might cause a problem. Because I'm a NIKKE."

Pepper Potts frowns slightly. "More because of his reputation with women. I'm only there because he made me CEO of the company."

"Aoou... I see. Okay. I understand." Little Mermaid nods slowly.

This is what happens when you insert yourself into someone's life. You aren't the center of their world. They have obligations, duties, and relationships already in play. She can't try to over shadow them or be more than the place she has already carved out. She understands. The world isn't meant to know NIKKEs still even exist. Maybe she's the only one...

"I've already asked JARVIS to help with anything you need. Tony probably already has, but, I wanted to make sure too." Pepper tries to smile. It feels like telling someone she's not accepted by the crowd and purposely kept away. She doesn't like it, but, Rhodey also felt the same way. Tony has to save his face with this event. "Is there anything I can do before I go, Siren?"

"Ahh? Uhm, no! It's okay. I'm used to being alone! Although it really isn't being alone with JARVIS here."

Pepper feels her smile falter just slightly. "No. I guess it's not. If you need anything have JARVIS call me."

Little Mermaid nods before raising her hands to shoo Pepper away. The woman is busy and has her things to do! In a way, it reminds her of her old friends. Abe always had meetings or tests to run with them. Hansel and Gtrel would stick to themselves mostly unless it was to cause trouble. Cinderella was the closest one to her, while Red Shoes...

Her hands tremble slighy at the memory of the woman.

"Tony's birthday..."

She thinks for a moment before nodding to herself. Within moments she is in her room, placing on her old uniform wet suit, and then heading out the back door that would lead outside. The path she takes is familiar to her. Diving in the sea is an enjoyable hobby. Especially as her bubbles allow her to dive deeper than NIKKEs normally are capable of due to their heavy bodies. She spends enough time underwater that when she finally returns to the surface, night has settled in. A bubble rests gently in her hands as she quickly returns to the Malibu mansion. The bubble is tucked under her arm as she enters the home, making her way to grab a few towels. Water isn't appreciated in the workshop.

Little Mermaid presses her hand to the glass door. The system recognizes her and allows her to slip into the workshop.

"Good evening, Miss Siren. Is there something I can help you with?"

She jumps at the voice and coughs to regain her composure. "Ah! JARVIS..."

"Apologies for frightening you. Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts are far more accustomed to my random interjections."

"Oh, it's not that! I just... am used to being alone." Little Mermaid comes to stand in the middle of the workshop with a towel wrapped around her main body to dry her suit and what she could fit of her hair on a towel on her head. "Uhm... ah... JARVIS? Could you help me with something? I need a strong wire. It doesn't need to be thick! Thin is okay."

"That is a simple request. Shall I have it brought to you upstairs?"

"No! Here is fine."

Little Mermaid stops in the middle of the room. Then, she moves down to the landing area. She makes herself comfortable and moves the bubble in front of her. With a gentle tap the bubble dissolves showing variations of shells. A smile spreads to her face. She starts to work on organzing by shape and size, humming slightly to herself. It's only when the arm stretches the flexible wire out to her she remembers that she isn't quite alone. The smile simmers slightly into something else sadder.

"Uhmmm... JARVIS?"

"Yes, Miss Siren?"

"Oh! Siren is fine. Even Little Mermaid is okay." She fidgets slightly before taking the wire from the arm. She snaps it easily then begins to bend it into the shape she wants. "Could... you look for something for me?"

"Of course, Siren. I will note that anything searched for will be recorded on the database for Mr. Stark to see as well. If that has your approval we can proceed."

Little Mermaid bends one of the ends of the wire. "That's fine. I don't think he'd really care anyways..."

"Very well. What should I look into? I have access to several public databases as well as certain top secret databases. Some would require further access requests from Mr. Stark."

Little Mermaid places the wire down. Her hands extend out, bubbles forming at her palms into exact shapes of two women. One taller with twin tails and one slightly older with a lab coat and glasses. The small bubble replicas walk forward and stop a few feet from their creator.

"Can you find anything about them...? Cinderella and Abe. My dear friend and out creator. I tried for a long time to find them on my own before I was captured..."

Blue laser lights project from the ceiling and wall. They scan the two bubbles before disappearing.

"I will begin a facial recognition scan. May I ask how long ago was "a long time"?"

"Uhm... its 2011 now...? So, uhm... sixty years ago?"

"The time of World War Two. If I might say, Siren, you hardly look a day over twenty."

She laughs a little. "Thank you."

JARVIS gets to work and she returns to her own arts and craft project. While certainly not on the scale of what Abe or Tony can do? She's at least certain her little project here will have some meaning. Even if it's a meaning that ends up on a shelf and forgotten for years and years. The two bubbles she has created stand by and watch her work. The twin tails nods or shakes her head at the order of shells being threaded onto the wire, while the one in the lab coat points to where errors of sizing have happened. Little Mermaid nods along with them.

Her humming has stopped and is instead replaced by the whirling of the robotic arm and hums of the machine.

"It seems as if I may have found something. May I show it to you, Siren? It will help narrow down the search."

Little Mermaid raises her head at the announcement. She ties the two pieces of wire together and begins to secure it before standing. A hologram projection of an old newspaper comes to view. Her hands sink in front of her at the faces she sees. A man and a woman standing next together. The man looks familiar, but she can't ever remember knowing exactly who he was. The woman she knows very well.

"Abe..."

A hand raises to gently touch the hologram. Fingertips slide through the projection. A woman with unruly blonde hair and glasses, an old lab coat and period dressing of the time. She stands beside the man. Behind her another woman with short hair stands with a smile on her face. Little Mermaid feels her hands begin to tremble at the sight of the other woman. She is a part of the story that Little Mermaid wishes she could forget... or at the very least no longer feel afraid of when she thinks or sees her.

"It would seem not many public records exist of the woman you identified as 'Abe.' She disappears from census records sometime after World War II. I have yet to find public records of the other woman you presented for the facial recognition scan. However, it could take time, as records from this time period are still in the process of being digitized."

"You probably won't find anything." Little Mermaid lowers her hand and looks at the strung together seashells in her other hand. "We were secret... meant to be unveiled to the public after the success of our mission. That never happened."

She pauses.

"Are there no records of them being seen anywhere recently...?"

"Not that I have identified yet, but these searches can take time. Shall I widen the search to include other parameters?"

"N-no. It's okay. Thank you for looking anyways." Little Mermaid forces a smile on her face. The bubbles of her two friends then dissipate into smaller bubbles. "Do you have a pen and paper I could use?"

"Of course."

The mechanical arm returns once more with the requested items. She gives a gentle pat of thanks to the arm before walking over to the desk that is filled with various pens, notes, drafts, and cups. A quick note is written with the string of seashells neatly placed onto it.
𝐻𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 𝐵𝒾𝓇𝓉𝒽𝒹𝒶𝓎, 𝒯𝑜𝓃𝓎.

She places the pen on the table before smiling. Once more she bundles what hair has fallen out of the towel in her arms. She heads to the workshop door and pauses.

"Good night, JARVIS. Thank you for trying to find anything. S-sleep well."

"While I do not require sleep, the sentiment is much appreciated. Sleep well, Siren."

"I don't need to sleep either."

She leaves the workshop and quietly heads to the room that has been given to her and shuts the door. The lights dim and she shuts the curtains. She sits on the bed in the dark drying her hair before laying back on it. Then, she rolls to her side and closes her eyes. Sleep doesn't necessarily come though. Maybe that's for the best. Her dreams would probably be filled with memories of how her team fell apart. How they were betrayed from the inside. How their heroes had to come in and stop ...

Little Mermaid sighs and rolls over to put her back to the door. There's definitely no sleep for her tonight.
doesntpaint: (blah)

[personal profile] doesntpaint 2025-05-22 09:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He doesn’t respond right away. That alone is telling, because Tony Stark doesn't do silence. He's 100% not the kind of guy who lets silence hang unless there’s a reason. Maybe it’s the way she said his name. Maybe it’s the sincerity behind words like “I’m glad you were born” that makes him pause. ]

Damn. Not every day someone makes me go speechless. You should write that down.

[ Tony's unsure how this actually makes him feel, but it seems clear enough that Little Mermaid knows how to get right under his skin. Ordinarily, he doesn't make admissions or confessions like the one he just did. Maybe it's nothing for the average person, but like Tony said, he's always talking, and he hardly ever goes speechless. Maybe Mermaid's power isn't only in her Kotodama. He already thought there was more to her than that, but now he's really thinking that's the case. ]

You know, I’ve had a lot of birthdays. Some loud, some flashy, some that ended with property damage and a helicopter ride I don’t remember.

[ He grins faintly at that, like he’s poking fun at a version of himself he’s outgrown, but still recognizes in the mirror. ]

Not a lot of people say things like that to me. Not without wanting something. Not without already knowing what I can give them.

No, you know what? You're a hell of a birthday gift, Ariel. [ He knows most people wouldn't like being called a present, but he thinks Little Mermaid will get what he's saying. He genuinely means it, too. It's not a flirtation or a joke. It's just a fact. ]

And for the record, this is how I want to celebrate my birthday. Just like this.

[ A second or two passes, and Tony just sits there quietly for those few seconds, before he adds: ]

I’m glad I met you too.
doesntpaint: (062)

[personal profile] doesntpaint 2025-06-03 06:39 am (UTC)(link)
[ Tony blinks at her for a second or two as if he's been left speechless. And actually, he has, for once. He said once that he didn't do feelings and he definitely didn't have much of a heart. Not like that girl in the Grinch story. But now? He feels something weird. A tugging feeling somewhere in the heart he said he didn't have. Except, well, that was a lie and part of him knew it when he said it. That was awhile ago, though, or something. At least, that's his excuse.

He really didn't expect anything like this, not from her, not on his birthday. ]


You know... Most people just show up with a bottle of scotch and a “Happy Birthday, Tony,” before angling for a ride in one of the cars or an invite to the next gala.

But you? You give me balloons made out of light and magic, offer me a dance, and you actually mean it.

[ There’s a pause, not long, but just long enough. Then, feeling like he's about to do something incredibly stupid that will look even more incredibly stupid, he steps forward, holding out a hand like some wannabe prince to a lady who extended her hands out to him like they're royalty and this is some fairytale ball.

A fairytale ball in a place that's nothing like a palace. ]


Alright, Ariel. You win.

[ He gives her a grin, the kind of grin that not many people get to see. It's not the smarmy press smile, or the one he uses when he's trying to schmooze someone. Or schmooze Pepper when there's something he wants that he knows she won't approve of. Not that that works, because Pepper sees through him every single time. He figures Ariel can probably see through that too, which is why he doesn't use that one. She gets the real thing. ]

You’re officially my favorite birthday present. Sorry, Lamborghini I didn’t want. You’re being outclassed by a girl who makes balloon-light magic and still thinks I’m cool.

[ He raises her hand slightly like he actually knows what he's doing. He's good at faking it, at least, so that probably counts for something. ]

So, about that dance. Fair warning: I do a mean robot, a questionable moonwalk, and something that vaguely resembles the Charleston if I’ve had enough champagne. Pepper thinks I can't really do any of them, and she's probably right, but it's all in the attitude.

So, you still wanna dance?
doesntpaint: (0285)

[personal profile] doesntpaint 2025-06-11 06:02 am (UTC)(link)
[ A lot of people wouldn't call Tony a good partner. They'd say he's too self-absorbed, too arrogant, and doesn't really care about people in the way that a partner should about their significant other. But Tony's more than some arrogant rich guy who looks at people as there for convenience. Sure, he might have moments like that, but that's not all he is. It's just hard to see it sometimes.

Right now, though, he's not Tony Stark, rich guy extraordinaire. He's just Tony. His thumb gently brushes over her fingers, almost as though he's not even thinking about it. Instinct is driving him now as it does most times. Well, there's times when he's laser focused, zeroed in, every move he's doing calculated and determined. Precise. Sometimes, though, instinct takes over the driver's seat. That doesn't mean he's checked out, but he's just reacting. Moving with intent and purpose, but it's all instinctual.

Maybe some would say there's no difference, but Tony knows the difference. ]


You know, I never thought about it before, but bubbles are better than balloons. Sure, neither of them last forever, but- there's something different about bubbles. They shimmer, they float, and then they just disappear. Yours don't disappear, though. One of these days, I'll ask if I can study them. Not right now, though.

[ It surprises him somehow, when he sees her blush. There's something about it that makes him feel... something. Maybe it's because she's so endearing. Maybe it's because she's just real. Maybe he doesn't know what to do with these feelings, so he deflects a little. ]

That's a big word, you know. "Hero". I'm not one, not really. Those characters you see in old school comic books? Now that's who people think if when they think about heroes.

[ While he's still talking, he moves slowly, still holding her hand. And then he grins his trademark grin, full of confidence and bravado, but beneath that, if she's looking, she might see just a hint of nerves. And Tony Stark doesn't do nervousness. ]

The box waltz, huh? Cinder had good taste. But for the record, I don't fall into any one style, or so people tell me. "Chaotic" is what they usually say, with a side of stepping on toes. Literally. [ He does a playful flourish, exaggerated for effect. ] You can't blame a guy for sometimes getting caught up in the music or whatever. [ He waves his free hand like it's nothing really important. ]

But whatever, let’s figure it out together. Just know that if I step on your toes, it's not on purpose. Not like the time I was dancing with... God, I forget what her name was, but she was fighting me the entire time because she wanted to take the lead. People said that was interesting to watch, kind of like how watching a bullfight is interesting. I was never into that, by the way. Bullfights.
doesntpaint: (0284)

[personal profile] doesntpaint 2025-06-20 05:19 am (UTC)(link)
[ Tony doesn't say anything right away.

He's been called a lot of things, either by himself or by others: genius, billionaire, warmonger, and worse besides. But hero? No one's really called him that, and no one wants to call him that, for the most part. He could brag and make claims that he's a hero, but he's really not. But hearing that from someone who still believes in heroes?

That one gets past the armor that he's worked so hard to build. It's not armor like his suits, but something harder to see and even harder to break. Except one word from one person managed to do it. ]


Damn, you really know how to hit a guy right in the arc reactor, don’t you?

[ It's half a joke and half not. Of course he has a heart, despite his efforts to pretend otherwise, but it's almost easier to deflect and just reference the arc reactor, not the real thing. ]

Listen, I’ve been a lot of things. I’ve done a lot of things. Some good. Some... really not good. The kind that people pick apart and question until there's nothing left to question. Hell, I'm not even really a good guy, not if you look at my record. But if I ever needed a reason to keep pushing? Well... I'd say moments like this count as a reason.

[ He nods toward her, as if to say "moments like this, with someone like you." ]

So, Iron Man's your hero, huh? Believe it or not, I didn't start all of this wanting to be a hero. I just- there was a problem that I caused and I had to fix it.

[ He's not sure why he's really telling her this, but it's something to do to fill up the space as he moves around slowly with Mermaid. ]

The thing is, Ariel? And yeah, I know how this sounds, coming from someone who's always front and center, but... It's not always the front and center people who end up being the real heroes. Sometimes it's the ones people don't even notice.

[ He pauses before he adds: ]

I notice you, by the way. And if I had to choose between you and Cinderella, I know who I'd pick every time. Don't get me wrong, I bet she's great. The whole package.

[ He tugs lightly at her hands in a somewhat playful gesture as he eyes her with a suddenly serious but obviously playful look. ]

You've got better hair, though, and a better laugh.

[ It's obviously meant to be funny, as he's never even seen Cinderella, but at the same time, Tony means every word. ]
doesntpaint: (0224)

[personal profile] doesntpaint 2025-06-30 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
[ He stares at her for a long second, long enough that the silence might’ve felt awkward if it weren’t for the way his thumb instinctively brushes over her knuckles. ]

That’s the thing about people like you. You say stuff like that, and I don’t know whether to thank you or tell you you’re way too good at handing out second chances.

[ He pauses again, another long one that seems to stretch on for too long. This isn't uncomfortable for him, exactly, but vulnerability is something he's never been really good at. ]

You really think I'd just stop noticing you? You're probably going to say I'm full of shit, but- believe it or not, I notice things sometimes. I mean, okay, I forget things a lot, like what Pepper's allergic to, but- [ He's trying to say that he tries. ] The point is, I notice things. Especially the stuff I pretend I don’t. You think I pulled you closer by accident?

[ He squeezes her hands gently now, because while he's not the most touchy kind of guy, this feels like the right time for a little physical contact. ]

Look, if I ever stop noticing you, it’s not because someone better came along. It’s because I messed up. Because I let my head or my tinkering or whatever get in the way. And if that ever happens?

Kick me. Hard. And if you're really not happy with me, go for the cars.

[ He smiles at her, and maybe it's weird to smile after he just gave her permission to kick him and then destroy his stuff, but it makes sense in his head. ]

I don’t know where this thing between us goes. I’m not exactly a safe bet. But you’re wrong about one thing.

[ He leans in a little closer. ]

I already noticed you. Too late for me to notice anyone else now. You're stuck with me.
Edited 2025-06-30 05:51 (UTC)
doesntpaint: (0239)

[personal profile] doesntpaint 2025-07-02 06:48 am (UTC)(link)
[ Tony lets out a soft, warm huff of breath, his smile shifting into something fond. He doesn’t pull away from how close they are, but he doesn’t lean in, either, not yet. For now, he just stays there, like he's hanging out somewhere between this closeness they have going and... and something more. Maybe that something is undefinable; maybe Tony doesn't want to put a label on it. But he'd be lying if he said he didn't want something more: not a hookup, not a one night stand, but something else... Something that lasts. And he can't imagine the last time he felt like that. ]

You know, I’ve had a lot of birthdays. Some loud, some explosive, literally. There was one year where I got a crazy idea and tried to make my own cake. I know, crazy idea, but I'd never done it before and those shows on Food Network make it look easy. Let me just say that the kitchen's still mad at me.

[ His voice lowers, like he's about to tell her a secret that's for her ears only. ]

Let me just tell you right now that this birthday might be the best one I've ever had.

And for the record? I'm going to tell you something else right now. I don’t need you to be something else. I don't need you to change who you are. Why's that? Well, because you're you. You're who you're supposed to be.

[ And then since he's not very good at being serious too long, he breaks the moment just slightly with a smirk, nudging her shoulder with his. ] Also, for the record, if you do break my leg, I’m calling dibs on the best wheelchair. And I expect it to be customized.

[ He's well aware how ridiculous that sounds, but making a spectacle of himself comes with the package. Sometimes that means being ridiculous. He's learned to live with it, more or less. ]

But, to answer your question: I meant it when I said this is how I wanted to spend it. Just being here, with you.

[ But then there's just the briefest of pauses and he adds: ] Although if you did have any top-secret, bubble-themed surprise parties planned, I wouldn't object. Maybe something with floating cupcakes. You know, modest requests.

[ He tries but doesn't quite manage to conceal a grin. ]
doesntpaint: (0225)

[personal profile] doesntpaint 2025-07-06 04:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Tony’s arms tighten just slightly around her, just enough for her to feel it, like he’s anchoring her in place, or maybe anchoring himself, or both. The smile, the real one, the one that only certain people get to see, lingers, softer now, like it’s been earned rather than flashed out automatically for show. He presses a kiss to her hair, just briefly. ]

God, you’re dangerous, you know that? No, really, I don't know if you know the kind of pull you have. And before you start getting all worried and freaking out, I don't mean the kotodama. I mean you. Some people call it magnetism, I just call it you being so good at just being you, that you draw people in. It's a skill, and a good one.

[ One of his hands lifts to touch her cheek carefully, with slight hesitation as if he's reaching for something so special that it could break apart if touched the wrong way. ]

So yeah, this one's for the books: best birthday ever, literally.

[ But then he pauses for a second, mouth twitching with mischief, before he adds: ]

If you do rig the chair with JARVIS, at least let me try to race it down the hallway once. For science.
doesntpaint: (0270)

[personal profile] doesntpaint 2025-07-06 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Tony’s hand stays right where it is, curled around hers, thumb brushing slow over her knuckles. Her answer plays on a loop in his head: maybe it’s just you that’s drawn to it.

Maybe it really is only him that's drawn to it, but from where he's standing, is that a bad thing? He doesn't think so. ]


Hey. [ His voice is lower now, having dropped down a few notches. ] I don't think it's just me, but if it is? Then it's going to be our thing. You know, every couple has a thing: something that's them, that if they opened up a dictionary, that would be in the entry written about them. Maybe that's our thing: we're like magnets, pulling each other together.

[ Of course that would be the analogy he uses. It's fitting, somehow.

She giggles about the wheelchair and then makes the suggestion about how she'd use her bubbles. It makes him chuckle in return. ]


Bubbles as lane markers, brilliant idea. Obstacle course version 2.0., and don't ask what happened to 1.0. JARVIS might find a way to smack me if you do. Also, bonus points if I don’t wipe out in front of the lab cameras.

[ And then at the sound of the AI that Tony is fonder of than he admits, he glances towards the ceiling keeping his voice deadpan but grinning from ear to ear. ]

JARVIS, I want selective memory loss installed by tomorrow morning.

Of course, sir, whatever you say. [ JARVIS may be an AI, but Tony can tell when JARVIS is having a laugh at his expense. He designed JARVIS to not just take whatever he says at face value, so of course he knows that's JARVIS's way of rolling his eyes and completely ignoring his orders, at least in this instance. ]

So, any other suggestions for JARVIS to disapprove of?
doesntpaint: (0177)

[personal profile] doesntpaint 2025-07-07 04:21 am (UTC)(link)
[ Tony's not usually one to get all hot and bothered, because he's usually the cool one when he's getting, well, comfortable with another person, but something about having Little Mermaid as close as she is and looking at him with those amber eyes of hers is making him feel like he should open a window. ]

Kinda hot in here, don't you think? [ She doesn't look like she's overheated at all, so it's 100% a him problem. Probably. Most likely. ] Don't mind me if I...

[ He starts unbuttoning his dress shirt as he replies: ] Yeah? You'd like that, huh? Well, that's settled then. We're magnets. [ He grins widely at her and there's a fondness bordering quite heavily on something more in his eyes.

Eventually he manages to undo all the buttons, but he doesn't toss his shirt away just yet. Maybe he found himself distracted by her leaning against him. Maybe just her closeness in general is distracting him.

Then she proposes an idea, and a very mischievous grin takes his face. ]
Ariel, I really like the way you think.

[ And if AIs could be scandalized, it's not difficult to imagine that JARVIS would be scandalized right now. ]
doesntpaint: (0285)

[personal profile] doesntpaint 2025-07-10 08:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well, for Tony, that's all the encouragement he needs, really. He finishes with the buttons and once that's done, he slides the shirt off his shoulders and pulls it away. ]

You know what else I can do, being a grown man and all? [ He can't stop his grin from growing, and he doesn't even want to. He doesn't just fling the shirt away, because it's expensive or something like that, but it does get slightly tossed somewhere out of the way.

Once it's gone, then he reaches for her hand, the one that reached out to touch the arc reactor and stops. He simply holds her hand until she's had enough time to react to his hand taking hers, and once he decides it's been long enough, he slowly begins moving his hand towards his chest and towards the arc reactor. ]


I know, you're probably thinking: what kind of weird, self-absorbed person just assumes another person wants to, well... you know, get handsy? [ He lets his grin widen even further. ]

Hi, I'm Tony Stark, nice to meet you.

[ It's his way of dispelling any notions she might have that he's not occasionally a little wild and flirty and not above taking the slightly sensual route. Which, this may or may not be that route. Or maybe it's both: it's sensual and intimate and personal and revealing.

Or maybe it's just that he's decided he trusts her with seeing what is essentially his heart. ]


So, what do you think? [ About the arc reactor, not necessarily himself. Although given he's presently standing there shirtless, he imagines that she's probably thinking something about the sight in front of her. ]
doesntpaint: (0187)

[personal profile] doesntpaint 2025-07-14 05:19 am (UTC)(link)
[ If anyone else were in this room with them, say, a reporter or something, he can already see the headline talking about how gratuitous and self-obsessed he is. "Not everyone wants to see Tony Stark with his clothes off." Except as hard as it might be to believe, that actually has very little to do with this. Well, all right, maybe it has something to do with it. But he'd have to be completely blind to miss the fact that Little Mermaid seems interested in him and in his arc reactor, and as far as he can tell, she's equally interested in both.

Maybe that's his type: someone who's just as attracted by the mechanical stuff as she is by the more... physical.

He holds still as she explores the reactor, letting her check all of it out as she sees fit. He'd be the first to say that it's a fascinating invention that he happened to construct from a box of scraps in a cave, so it makes sense to him why she'd be curious. ]


Hey. [ He smiles at her as they introduce themselves to each other again. ] You know, I'd ask if you being Little Mermaid means you have a prince waiting for you somewhere. You've got a leg up on the actual Ariel, though, because unlike her, you didn't trade your voice away for legs. [ Surprisingly, he didn't intentionally put "a leg up" in the same sentence as "legs". It just worked out that way. ]

Then that means it's doing its job and that I know what I'm doing. Lucky for me, since I kind of need this thing to keep kicking.
doesntpaint: (012)

[personal profile] doesntpaint 2025-07-18 06:43 am (UTC)(link)
[ Once, Tony would have said that there is no understanding him. Not that he's vain enough to say he's some great mysterious enigma that no one could ever solve. He's not that full of himself. Well, maybe he is, a little, but the point is that people don't really stop to try and understand him, and for awhile, he liked it that way. It meant that he could (mostly) do what he wanted and go where he wanted and if people wondered what he was doing, well... they just wrote it off as "Tony Stark being Tony Stark" and left it at that.

But that was before he met Little Mermaid and his entire world seemed to shift. He tried his best to make it seem as though nothing had changed: he was still him, being too grand and loud and too fond of showing off, and he definitely didn't have a heart. He definitely didn't have feelings and he absolutely wasn't falling in love. Why not? Because that felt way too much like something out of a chick flick.

But then, he registers her fingertips tracing along the arc reactor, following the patterns on its surface, and then... She presses his palm to her chest again, and he realizes all at once what this means. They might still be very different in a lot of ways, but where they are similar comes down to his arc reactor and her core as well. Both of them are powered by something more than just a heart, and that is one thing that makes them alike.

Well, that and a budding interest in each other. And yes, Tony is very interested in her, even if he hasn't said as much in plain English. If he wasn't interested, she wouldn't be here, and they wouldn't have danced, and he wouldn't be looking at her like she's the most beautiful person he's ever seen.

The look on his face is vulnerable and open in a way that Tony rarely is, but he's not bothering to hide it right now. ]


No prince, huh? [ That's what he says instead of saying the actual words that are on the very tip of his tongue. But maybe it would be too ridiculous, too laughable, to even begin to propose that maybe he could be her prince. She probably wouldn't want him anyway, no matter how many times she presses his hand against her chest, against her heart.

There's better men out there who are better suited to being in a relationship with another person. Tony isn't the most attentive unless it's something mechanical or something that he can fix, and as his past girlfriends would attest, he really isn't the most thoughtful either.

... But then again, did any of those girlfriends ever meet the real Tony? Did they see the man beneath the too-practiced grin who liked to move fast and keep up a relentless pace even in the bedroom? ]


You know what, Ariel? You really have a way with words. [ He puts as much admiration into his tone as possible as he listens to her talk about currents, magnets, him...

When she stops to pause or take a breath, that's when he leans in, closer than before, and his lips brush lightly against hers for just a fraction of a second, before they deepen further against her mouth. ]