Marla and Tony, Backdated to 12/14
Dec. 14th, 2013 03:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
om_ironman posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
om_mainMarla meets Tony, and your basic snark somehow becomes a product request.
So the Audi didn't exactly need to be checked over, considering that Tony had pretty much just rehauled the thing (again), but car maintenance was pretty much like...one of those hobbies other people seemed to have. Knitting or something. Either way, it was low stress, required very little in the way of actual brain power, and was calming in it's own way.
Which was probably why he was leaning over the open hood, absently poking around as he considered trying to wring a few extra horsepower out of the thing. Without swapping out the engine entirely, at least.
Marla was no mechanic; her useful skill with cars was how to hotwire them. One of the many useful things Jason had taught her before she'd decided it was best to run away from him and everything else. Amazing how many of these useful things had come in handy when she was in homeless in New York. She had yet to actually steal a car, though.
She couldn't even tell who was leaned over the hood when she walked up and rocked back on her heals, shoving one hand into the pocket of her coat. It had gotten cold enough that she wore fingerless gloves pretty much all the time, and the one coat she had actually had patches on it, but it was crazy warm. Too warm, probably.
"Is it yours?" she asked, mostly because she was wondering if it was allowed to just start poking at the innards of random cars in the garage.
"Either that or I'm the Stealth Mechanic," Tony returned cheerfully, still halfway inside the car. "Fixing things when nobody's looking. Like one of those shoe elves or something. Why, you looking to buy?" He tacked on to the end, shifting just enough that he could see the other pair of legs the new voice was presumably attached to.
Marla took a step closer in her heavy red boots, and looked into the engine. "Sure, I've got about a hundred and fifty bucks, what will that get me?"
"I've got a couple of shiny wrenches you can look at," Tony said with a grin aimed in the general direction of her shoes.
"Ooh, I've been in the market for a new blunt object," Marla said cheerfully.
He snorted a little and finally straightened up to look at her. "If that's all you need," Tony said, amused, "can I interest you in some rebar?"
"No thank you, I have my own," Marla said politely. "Looking to upgrade, perhaps something that will fit in my purse." She didn't actually carry a purse. "You're Tony Stark," she said, realizing. "Ugh, it is your car, isn't it."
"Yes and yes," Tony said with an easy smirk and leaned back against the hood. "So collapsible blunt object?" He continued like she was at all serious. Hey, it was a handy idea.
"Perhaps with retractable spikes," Marla said.
"I could probably do that," he said thoughtfully. "Like a morning star or what?"
Marla grinned. "Collapsible rebar that pops out into a morningstar. Sure, get on that. I'll even promise not to use it on you."
"Now why would you do that?" Tony opened his eyes into overdramatic surprise. "I'm so charming."
"The charming ones are usually the most deserving of a morningstar to the face," Marla said. She was teasing. But also, it was true.
"You've clearly been meeting the wrong charming people," Tony said with a snort. "Anything else you think you need?"
"What, just, in general? I mean, I guess you've got lots of money so you could give me some of that if you want. Or the car. I like cars. Also motorcycles."
"Well I meant for your mace. You want a motorcycle, that's probably going to take a lot longer."
Marla looked thoughtful for a minute and then said, "Yeah, I think it should be pink." Not because she liked pink, but because she thought it was funny, and also anything to momentarily distract your opponent was useful.
Tony barely even blinked. "We talkingbaby or neon?"
"Like pepto bismol."
"Deal," he said, expression widening into a grin. "One pepto-bismol pink retractable morning star, just for you."
Marla arched an eyebrow. "Just like that?"
"Why not?" Tony asked with a slight shrug. "Seems like an interesting idea. I've never made medieval weaponry before." He paused. "Well, aside from the crossbow."
Marla eyed him suspiciously. "You've actually made a crossbow?"
"Working on it," he agreed as if it was the most sensible thing in the world.
"Why?" was Marla's immediate question. Because it mattered whether he intended to use it, or whether it was just a project, to her opinion of him.
Tony gave her a look that said he didn't entirely understand the question but shrugged. "'Cause Irvine wanted one. And a catapult, but that's going to take a lot more planning."
"Irvine's the cowboy, right?" Marla asked, because she'd seen him around. But anyone who wanted a crossbow was somewhat more interesting. "You get a lot of requests for advanced weaponry?"
"You mean aside from the very large advanced-weapon-making company that has my name on it, I'm guessing," Tony said more than a little dryly. "But to answer the question, no. Wouldn't really call a crossbow advanced either, but hey. People make interesting requests, I'm gonna try 'em. Better than being bored."
Marla knew that she'd clearly spent too much time listening to her brother when she found herself automatically sizing up Tony Stark as a mark. Couldn't seem to help it. He'd just be such a good subject for a long con, even if she wasn't totally sure yet how she'd run it. "And not even asking for payment? You are bored."
He gave a snort that was just short of an actual laugh and turned an amused look on her. "What would be the point? Pretty sure I've already got all the cash I could need.
Anything beyond that is just keeping score."
"Is it? Well, I'll tell you what." Marla leaned over then, picked up a wrench, and tightened the swaybar link under the car. Then she straightened and handed him the wrench. "You do a good job, I'll owe you a favor."
The smile that spread over Tony's mouth was slow, but definitely appreciative.
Nothing wrong with someone who knew their way around a tool or two. "And what kind of favor would that be?"
"That depends on how awesome my new morningstar is," Marla said. "I guess you know how to find me, hmm?"
"I think I can probably manage," Tony agreed with a slight smirk.
She wondered if he realized that she hadn't told him her name, or even if it mattered - wasn't like there were that many students here anyway. "In that case, I'll leave to to your... toys." She smirked at the car.
So the Audi didn't exactly need to be checked over, considering that Tony had pretty much just rehauled the thing (again), but car maintenance was pretty much like...one of those hobbies other people seemed to have. Knitting or something. Either way, it was low stress, required very little in the way of actual brain power, and was calming in it's own way.
Which was probably why he was leaning over the open hood, absently poking around as he considered trying to wring a few extra horsepower out of the thing. Without swapping out the engine entirely, at least.
Marla was no mechanic; her useful skill with cars was how to hotwire them. One of the many useful things Jason had taught her before she'd decided it was best to run away from him and everything else. Amazing how many of these useful things had come in handy when she was in homeless in New York. She had yet to actually steal a car, though.
She couldn't even tell who was leaned over the hood when she walked up and rocked back on her heals, shoving one hand into the pocket of her coat. It had gotten cold enough that she wore fingerless gloves pretty much all the time, and the one coat she had actually had patches on it, but it was crazy warm. Too warm, probably.
"Is it yours?" she asked, mostly because she was wondering if it was allowed to just start poking at the innards of random cars in the garage.
"Either that or I'm the Stealth Mechanic," Tony returned cheerfully, still halfway inside the car. "Fixing things when nobody's looking. Like one of those shoe elves or something. Why, you looking to buy?" He tacked on to the end, shifting just enough that he could see the other pair of legs the new voice was presumably attached to.
Marla took a step closer in her heavy red boots, and looked into the engine. "Sure, I've got about a hundred and fifty bucks, what will that get me?"
"I've got a couple of shiny wrenches you can look at," Tony said with a grin aimed in the general direction of her shoes.
"Ooh, I've been in the market for a new blunt object," Marla said cheerfully.
He snorted a little and finally straightened up to look at her. "If that's all you need," Tony said, amused, "can I interest you in some rebar?"
"No thank you, I have my own," Marla said politely. "Looking to upgrade, perhaps something that will fit in my purse." She didn't actually carry a purse. "You're Tony Stark," she said, realizing. "Ugh, it is your car, isn't it."
"Yes and yes," Tony said with an easy smirk and leaned back against the hood. "So collapsible blunt object?" He continued like she was at all serious. Hey, it was a handy idea.
"Perhaps with retractable spikes," Marla said.
"I could probably do that," he said thoughtfully. "Like a morning star or what?"
Marla grinned. "Collapsible rebar that pops out into a morningstar. Sure, get on that. I'll even promise not to use it on you."
"Now why would you do that?" Tony opened his eyes into overdramatic surprise. "I'm so charming."
"The charming ones are usually the most deserving of a morningstar to the face," Marla said. She was teasing. But also, it was true.
"You've clearly been meeting the wrong charming people," Tony said with a snort. "Anything else you think you need?"
"What, just, in general? I mean, I guess you've got lots of money so you could give me some of that if you want. Or the car. I like cars. Also motorcycles."
"Well I meant for your mace. You want a motorcycle, that's probably going to take a lot longer."
Marla looked thoughtful for a minute and then said, "Yeah, I think it should be pink." Not because she liked pink, but because she thought it was funny, and also anything to momentarily distract your opponent was useful.
Tony barely even blinked. "We talkingbaby or neon?"
"Like pepto bismol."
"Deal," he said, expression widening into a grin. "One pepto-bismol pink retractable morning star, just for you."
Marla arched an eyebrow. "Just like that?"
"Why not?" Tony asked with a slight shrug. "Seems like an interesting idea. I've never made medieval weaponry before." He paused. "Well, aside from the crossbow."
Marla eyed him suspiciously. "You've actually made a crossbow?"
"Working on it," he agreed as if it was the most sensible thing in the world.
"Why?" was Marla's immediate question. Because it mattered whether he intended to use it, or whether it was just a project, to her opinion of him.
Tony gave her a look that said he didn't entirely understand the question but shrugged. "'Cause Irvine wanted one. And a catapult, but that's going to take a lot more planning."
"Irvine's the cowboy, right?" Marla asked, because she'd seen him around. But anyone who wanted a crossbow was somewhat more interesting. "You get a lot of requests for advanced weaponry?"
"You mean aside from the very large advanced-weapon-making company that has my name on it, I'm guessing," Tony said more than a little dryly. "But to answer the question, no. Wouldn't really call a crossbow advanced either, but hey. People make interesting requests, I'm gonna try 'em. Better than being bored."
Marla knew that she'd clearly spent too much time listening to her brother when she found herself automatically sizing up Tony Stark as a mark. Couldn't seem to help it. He'd just be such a good subject for a long con, even if she wasn't totally sure yet how she'd run it. "And not even asking for payment? You are bored."
He gave a snort that was just short of an actual laugh and turned an amused look on her. "What would be the point? Pretty sure I've already got all the cash I could need.
Anything beyond that is just keeping score."
"Is it? Well, I'll tell you what." Marla leaned over then, picked up a wrench, and tightened the swaybar link under the car. Then she straightened and handed him the wrench. "You do a good job, I'll owe you a favor."
The smile that spread over Tony's mouth was slow, but definitely appreciative.
Nothing wrong with someone who knew their way around a tool or two. "And what kind of favor would that be?"
"That depends on how awesome my new morningstar is," Marla said. "I guess you know how to find me, hmm?"
"I think I can probably manage," Tony agreed with a slight smirk.
She wondered if he realized that she hadn't told him her name, or even if it mattered - wasn't like there were that many students here anyway. "In that case, I'll leave to to your... toys." She smirked at the car.
