midnight textings

[cherrytrees]

The Midnight Texting Meme It's the middle of the night and you're trying to catch some z's — or brooding alone in the alleys, as one does — when your phone dings and suddenly a stranger or a friend is texting you. What could they possibly want at this hour? Is it important? Stupid? Are they drunk or maybe just needy? Do they need help hiding a body??? Pick up your phone and find out! Rules: ● Post with your character's name and canon on the subject line, indicate preferences as needed ● Tag others ● Have fun!

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[inherents]

ok, be back soon.

[ true to his word, friday quietly informs tony that james has arrived just a few seconds before the teenager slips into the garage. he looks tired and he's limping a little, but otherwise seems to be in pretty fair condition.

he smiles at tony when he sees him, faintly sheepish, pulling off the bracer that projects his energy-shield and setting it down. by the time he's reached his guardian, he's peeled out of his uniform top (it smells faintly of gunpowder and burned leather), leaving him in a tanktop beneath. he steps in closer and wraps his arms around tony, pushing his face in against his shoulder. ]

Sorry 'm late, [ he mumbles, muffled, and almost--almost--tries out 'dad' before chickening out the way he's chickened out of it for months now. tony's.. not his dad. everyone knows who james's dad technically is. it's just.. tony's been his dad in every way but biological for ages now. ]

[arc_reactor]

( tony spent that remaining time being useful: prepping a couple sandwiches and a shake, dragging out the first-aid kit from a supply cabinet, and giving friday a heads up, if james needed a body scan. rising from the stool he's been sitting sentinel on the past few minutes, he returns the teen's sheepish smile and enfolds him in a hug.

relief floods him at last, a feeling he's always keen to deny himself up until the moment james is actually, 100% home. this, really, has just gotta be karmic payback for every time he worried his own parents, or left pepper wondering if he would make it back from one crazy mission or another. just how he's gonna make it when both his kids go off to college is anyone's guess- and james is definitely his kid, bio-parentage aside. he felt guilty for it sometimes, like he was overstepping some kind of unspoken boundary, and somehow trampling on natasha and steve's memory by it too.

tony ruffles james' hair and leans back to have a look at him. )

You're home. That's what's important. Just- ( the creases between his brows deepen, ) -Remember to call next time, okay? Any time, no matter how late.

[inherents]

[ he makes a noise of complaint out of principle at the hair ruffle, but it's half-hearted at best. he likes all the little displays of affection this family--his family--gives him, even on days when he most feels like a cuckoo in the nest. ]

I will, [ he promises, and winces a little at the concern in tony's face. he doesn't want to cause he and pepper problems, it's just.. he can't just sit back and do nothing when he is what he is. he wouldn't know how to just be a regular teenager, anyway, given his upbringing. ] I honestly just forgot. [ he'd been wheezing in an alley at his usual check-in time.

he eases back and takes the shake off the work bench to take a sip, suddenly starving now that all the adrenaline's worn off and he's safe at home. then he sits down on a stool and leans down to start pulling the laces loose on his boots. ] I think I turned my ankle catching myself. [ smaller injuries like that usually heal up pretty quickly, at least. ]

[arc_reactor]

Really, ( Tony drags another stool around and slides on some too-familiar glasses. )

And you didn't hit your head?

( no sign of concussion, friday assures him, but that's sort of the benefit of having half of steve's dna. keep that lightning-fast metabolism fed, and james shouldn't have to worry about petty limitations like that. thinking better of sitting down just yet, tony retrieves a bag of ice from the freezer, crackling it beneath his fingers. )

[inherents]

No, [ he agrees with friday, and toes off his loosened boots, nudging them to the side. now his ankle really does throb without the pressure keeping it stabilized.

he rotates it, sipping his shake as he does so and glancing up, extending his foot a little to let tony put the ice pack on it. ]

I got the guys I was going for, at least.

[arc_reactor]

Who were they?

( he leans aside to drag the stool closer, and stoops to carefully take James' heel, gently depositing his foot on the padded seat with the ice bag. just a strain. a wrap and a good night's sleep should take care of it. )