2012-11-02 Third Wheels

"...and he won't come out!" Friday finishes at top volume. Bethany slumps down in her chair and taps her S-phone on her forehead as she assesses the situation. Tony has a meeting in under two hours, with a Wakandan corporation. Apparently, if Friday has it right, he's holed up in a sorority house on the NYU campus and has decided to, quote, "buy the whole damn place and live there forever and ever." 
"I'll be right there." Bethany gets up to pull on her Stark Industries Security uniform. "Keep an eye on him." She makes sure to holster up the really good stun gun. Just in case. 
Helicopters are the best. Bethany lands in front of the sorority house less than half an hour later, with Yael and Elora in tow. A company limousine is on its way around but traffic is holding it up. Bethany leaves her backup on the porch, hammers on the door briefly, then steps inside.
"I'm here for Mr. Stark," she calls in her best no-nonsense voice.
"So then I was all: PEW PEW PEW! Repulsor to the face! And those HYDRA dudes went flying every which way but loose. I'm telling you, being Iron Man is the best. The Best."
Tony Stark looks somewhat terrible. Well, it's actually kind of difficult for Tony Stark to look terrible. He's rocking jeans and a t-shirt, though there's lipstick of varying shades all over him and his collar and perhaps other places that cannot be seen at this particular time. And he's sitting dead center in a circle of fascinated sorority girls in various states of scantily clad and undressedness. There's coffee brewing. There's breakfast being made. And from the looks of the plate in front of him, Stark has already eating or preparing to eat again. Who knows.
"Like, ohmygawd. That is so awesome."
"Yeah, like, you rock so hard. Sign my boo-"
"Mine first!"
"What kind of power does the Arc Reactor in your chest put out? I'm wondering about the possible physical ramifications of storing the 'battery' for your suit inside your chest. That can't exactly be the most healthy option, can it? Surely, there must be a way to create an external power source that is capable of giving you the same output with a lesser risk to your own personal safety?"
Everybody, including Stark, just stops and turns to look at the Brunette with Glasses.
"What? I'm a science major, okay?"
Laughter! Happiness! From all! To the point that Stark is blatantly ignoring the fact that he has heard his name and heard the voice that is attached to his name. La la la!
Ignore!
 
Bethany cuts an imposing figure when she wants to, enough to make an impact even on air-headed, giggly girls. The all-black, military-cut uniform doesn't hurt, neither do her weapons. She stops in the doorway, pushes up her HUD-enabled Stark-Shades, and manages not to roll her eyes at the scene.
"Mr. Stark. I hate to interrupt your meeting here, but you can't keep the Wakandans waiting today." Trying the professional approach first. "We need to get going. Helicopter's outside, limo's nearly here if you prefer."
"They have a whole country. I don't think they are going anywhere." Stark doesn't even look up from the Circle of Sorority Girl Protection that he has surrounded himself with. In fact, a couple of the girls closest to him actually lean and cling to him. Just to be on the safe side.
"Besides, these hard working, /American/ girls need my help more than one of the richest and most powerful countries overseas does. They all have papers due this week. And I've graciously decided to study them. All weekend long."
This gets a chorus of multiple squeaks of happiness. The Geek Girl squeaks the loudest on that one.
"So. Run along, Jeeves." Snap.
 
Bethany is unimpressed to say the least. She ignores the girls entirely, walks in, pushes Tony's plate aside with her foot, and stands right in front of him. "Mr. Stark. It's very important going forward that we don't disrespect the Wakandans. The sorority will still be here later and you're not doing these young ladies any favours by 'helping' them at this point." She offers Tony a hand up. 
"We do need to get going, Tony," she adds, a little more gently. "This is important for the company--and therefore to you, which is why it's important to me."
"Actually, we had an exciting night full of favors. I think somebody even might have a video." Stark doesn't seem to be moving from his spot on the floor and he's certainly not caring about whatever it is that Bethany is saying. He would look hungover if he had drank enough, but instead it seems that he must've engaged in a much more blissful activity. Because there's this weird unstoppable smile that stays on his lips, even through all this sulking.
"Wakandaloo will get over it. If they don't, let them choose someone else to build their castles and fortresses and whatever else. I hear Bruce Wayne is available." Stark is waving a hand dismissively at whatever these 'issues' are that are making it hard for him to stay where he wants to say.
"It's my company and I'll skip meetings if I want to. Skip meetings if I want to. Skip meetings if I want to." Yes. He just did that.
 
"Well, considering that Wakandans have things you want as well--like vibranium--it might be expedient not to stand them up," Bethany says patiently. She crouches down to look Tony in the eye. "I'm not leaving, Tony. This is my job and you are my friend and you are making a mistake right now. You only get like this when something's bugging you, and I don't know what it is or I'd try and fix it. But you're not getting rid of me. This is important. You can have all the sex you can stand after the meeting."
"Wrong, Jezebel. The Wakandans have something You want. I don't need Vibranium to get it up. I'm just a natural sex machine." Tony's words are meant to cut and slice, for a reason. Perhaps because he feels left out of the loop. Perhaps because he's just simply shoving people away in the best way he knows how: by being himself. Which is usually being a huge jackass. Either way, he's got this look on his face that basically screams: You Lied To Me and there's no way he's moving from this spot without some sort of physical force. Which could then give him the power to fire her and that'll be that.
"So. Either you can go to the Wakandans and beg them for more stuff or blame it all on me and my total disregard for actually giving a crap. Whatever. This third wheel is staying put. Now could you leave? You're ruining breakfast."
 
"I'm not leaving, because you hired me to do this job and I happen to care about doing it. And you're not firing me either, because I refuse to be fired so good luck with that. Finally, you can't fire friends anyway, so you're stuck with me. What's this 'third wheel' business?" Bethany looks around and does a quick count. "You look more like the twelfth wheel at the moment, God help us all."
"I'm the train, baby. I am the train."
Stark has no idea what he's talking about. But he's sure it's sounding good. And he's also sure that the girls are eating it up. And that's all that matters right now. "Look. Just go, okay? You're supposed to keep me safe, right? Right. And there's no danger here, right? Right. So, there's absolutely no reason for you to be here and causing all of this drama. And I think you might've forgot to CC me on the memo that we were friends. I tend to be out of the loop on a lot of things, lately."
 
"What are you talking about, Tony?" Bethany shakes her head. "Of course we're friends. I like you. You know what? The way you're talking, I have to assume you're under the influence of some unknown substance and should probably not be left to your own devices. That or you're feverish." Under the influence of crazy, possibly. "Either would indicate that you're not safe and I should take you back to the Tower to have a doctor check you out."
"I'm a med student!"
"Ha. See that? Michelle's a med student, I'm good."
"Actually, this is Christina."
"Whatever!"
Stark waves another dismissive hand above his head. It's hard to have conversations with girls in the other room. And it's even harder to keep track of names of girls in an entire house of girls. It's just not right. It's just very difficult. And there's no reason for him to continue this for as long as it's going to go on. "Listen. Since apparently, you're about as subtle as a brick, let me make this a little more clear. You got what you wanted, okay? You don't need to pretend we're all one big happy family. It's fine. We don't need to be a Harry Potter Trio. You two can blast off into as many Team Rocket adventures as you want. I want you to. I'm, as sickening as this may sound, actually happy for you two." He's not going to drop any names. Military stuff. "I was a solo act when I started. And I can be a solo act now."
 
"I got what I wanted? Tony. This is... about me and..." Bethany actually looks hurt. "You're jettisoning us and going all lone wolf because we made the mistake of falling for each other? We didn't say anything because it just... I wasn't ready to talk about it and he was literally in pieces. You know, that thing where he got blown up by a bomb and I got what was left of him back in pieces hooked up to a battery. Besides, I've been a widow two months, I wasn't planning this. I know I sent you a memo about that one, Tony. Husband of ten years died, had to bury him, needed a few days off." 
Bethany stands up slowly and now she just looks sad. Disappointed. "If you think that's what I wanted, that and to take away your best friend who loves you, you're wrong. You can be mad at me, Tony, just don't take it out on him. And don't screw yourself over by missing an important meeting."
"It doesn't matter. Really, it doesn't. I've already called the Wakandans. There's a shipment of Vibranium coming in on Monday. The meeting is just to sign the paperwork and show them a couple of armor designs I'm working on for them. I'll handle it." Stark just shrugs his shoulders, totally not feeling like partying anymore. And so, he's looking around at his girls. "Girls. I gotta' go. Duties I never asked for call." There's a huge 'awwwwwww' that comes from the group. As always. "You. Geek with Chic. Call me. We'll talk about you geting a closer look at my Repulsor Beam." Wink.
It takes Tony a minute, but he's finally on his feet and brushing past Bethany in a way that basically says both Sorry and I'm Hurt Too. The best way for him to actually say these things is to not say these things. "I fixed his eye, by the way. But he's going to have to pick up the Vibranium himself. I'm not that strong." And now Tony seems to be leading the way out of the sorority house.
"Did someone remember to pack me a suit?"
 
"You pay me too much for me to forget your suits," Bethany says, following Tony out. "And stuff to clean up with. More room to change in the back of the chopper than in the limo, but there's suits in each. Whichever you like." 
It's going to take time for Tony to catch one that no one's dumping him but also he doesn't get to know everything all the time, and then time for him to get over being mad about the latter. She can be patient. She's not going to go away because Tony's trying to deal with feeling hurt or anxious by rejecting the people who care about him most.
Tony is headed towards the helicopter but not for any reason of getting in. "Just give me the suit. I'll walk." He's clearly not wanting to be around people right now. Especially the people that are causing him all the problems in his head. Personally. Business-wise. It's really all too much and the gig to build at Emma's school couldn't have come at a better time. It'll give him something to do. Something to think about besides the fact that he is, as always, alone.
"I'll be on time." He would add an 'I promise' onto that, but whatever. Nobody cares about what Tony promises.
 
"I'm sure you will." Bethany stands aside and lets the other staff take over. "We'll leave once Mr. Stark's settled," she says. She's not going to get in Tony's way. She got what she came for, which was to get him out of the sorority house and find out what was wrong. It's not as though Tony's about to forgive her any time soon, so. Patience.
With his suit in hand, Tony turns to get ready to make his path through the city and back to the Tower. It looks far. But when you're Tony Stark, you kind of get through the city pretty fast. "Look. I know you probably think I'm upset. Or mad. Or something. But I'm not. Really, I'm not. I'm crazy happy for you two. He needs... well, you. Heh." Tony's talking to the ground. He can't say this kind of stuff to Beth's face. It'd be weird. "It just kinda' sucks that it puts me on the outside. That's all." And now he looks up and spots the Stark Tower in the distance. "At least I'll always have my ol' ball and chain, though, right?"
With a 'we're all good' weak smile he looks at Bethany and then turns to get on with the walk on. Away from the sorority house.
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