Steve R and Tony, Backdated to 7/29
Jul. 29th, 2014 10:49 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_mainBeing at work is not enough to save Steve from being hijacked by a bored millionaire. Good thing he doesn't mind much.
Text to Steve:
Boooooooored. Come entertain me.
Text to Tony:
Can't, sorry. :( At work, and working tomorrow, otherwise I'd come up after.
Wish I could. Skype when I'm off?
Text to Steve:
Pfft fine. Ignore me for the plants. I see how it is.
Text to Tony:
I need the money, unfortunately.
You're more fun than plants, if it's any consolation.
Text to Steve:
Of course I am.
Text to Tony:
...Tony, did you just order a large shipment of trees and plants with the specification that I had to help deliver?
Did you really just buy these so I would come visit you?
Text to Steve:
Who would do a thing like that? I have a nice shiny building that needs trees and things.
Texts to Tony:
Sure, Tony.
I miss you too.
My boss called me into his office to make sure you weren't stalking me.
He's pretty thrilled to have SI as a business contact, though. Didn't quite believe me when I said we were friends.
Text to Steve:
Hey, gimme his number. I can fix that.
Text to Tony:
Oh my god, Tony, don't call my boss.
Okay, I have to load up these plants you ordered. Can't text in the cab, but I guess I'll see you in about two hours.
Sure enough, two hours later, Steve was climbing out of the cab of the delivery truck in front of Tony's building. He smiled and shook his head, because he still couldn't believe Tony had actually done this (and neither could Robbie, his coworker driving the truck, for that matter.) He tugged at the green tee shirt from where it was sticking to his back, sweaty after the long drive with poor air conditioning, and pulled off his cap, pushing it into his back pocket and he made a quick attempt at straightening his hat hair.
"I'll go sign us in, Rob," he said before walking in through the doors, goosebumps raising at the blast of air conditioned air that met him. "Hey JARVIS," he said to the air, glancing up at the ceiling even though he knew that JARVIS didn't actually live in there. "Can you let Tony know I'm here? Tell him I have to have him sign for this delivery before we can start unloading."
"Of course, Captain," JARVIS said politely, though judging by the way the elevator doors opened moments later to reveal and entirely-too-innocent looking Tony, it was clear the request hadn't been necessary.
"Have you brought me my shrubbery?" Tony asked by way of a greeting.
Steve grinned because, hey, he got that reference! "I did," he said, giving him a quick nod and trying to keep a straight face as he added, "They're nice, but don't look expensive."
Remembering the clipboard in his hand, he set it on the counter and slid it towards him so he could pick it and the pen up for himself. "If you can sign and date at the dotted line, Mr. Stark," he said, the very image of professionalism, but there was a grin in his eyes, even if he managed to not let it show on his lips, "We'll get started installing these for us."
He slipped his hands in his pockets, one eyebrow arching. "I assume you have a layout of where you'd like them to go?" he said, though his voice implied he actually assumed the exact opposite.
"Wait, I need to come up with layouts? What exactly am I paying you for?" Tony snorted as he grabbed for the pen and scrawled out something that bore a passing resemblance to his name. "You're the artist. Do something artsy. Or don't. See if I care."
Steve couldn't help put laugh, shaking his head. "Really? You just...want some plants in your yard? Are you planning on putting any other elements out there, or...I don't know, mulch?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, I can come up with something, but it might take a little bit. I might have to send Robbie back, you'll have to work something out with my boss." He didn't bother telling Tony that he couldn't do that, because, well, Tony had a lot of money and didn't take no for an answer.
"What, you might have to stay here longer? Oh no. What a chore." He gave Steve a flat look. "Gimme your boss' number, I'll call him right now."
Steve's eyes narrowed, an exaggeration of shock as he pointed out the number on the paperwork. "You realize I'll be outside, right? You're really willing to to brave nature for me?"
"Nobody said I have to be outside," Tony said with a snort and tugged the papers out of his hand. "I get to sit in here and watch."
Steve immediately blushed brightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Why would you-" he started, only to abandon it. "Okay." He glanced behind him, gesturing vaguely. "I'm going to, um. Unload. So." He gestured again, then turned around sharply on his heel, heading back outside.
Tony made absolutely no attempt to hide his snickering, and detoured into the closest room to make the phone call.
A good ten minutes later, he sauntered right out of the building with a not particularly small smirk. "Your boss says if you followed me home, I can keep you," he called in Steve's direction.
Robbie shot him an odd look, but Steve wasn't surprised. It was a family owned business, and having Tony as a client could be a breakthrough for their business. Still, he rolled his eyes at Tony's smirk, even if he had one of his own. "This is just because you want me to stay in that room, isn't it? I'm onto you, Stark."
He wiped the back of his forehead, smudging it with dirt, and gestured for Tony to come over. "Here, I'll show you some ideas I had, just now. I'll have to look around and draw up some sketches tonight, but I want to run some things past you first."
"You're the art guy," Tony said with a snort, but meandered his way over, "I'm just the wallet. Do whatever you want." Though he did give the general area a critical, narrow-eyed look.
"You're making me wish I still had an inhaler," he said with a laugh, rolling his eyes a little. "I'm guessing you just want it to look pretty? Because we could do a pathway up to the entrance, line it with all those flowers you bought and some sort of mulch. Trees on your east and west facing sides will up your energy efficiency." He chewed at his lip with a glance over to Tony, then sighed. "Just promise you won't hate me if I screw this up." He felt confident he could do a decent job on it, but it was a lot of responsibility, and, well. He was a little intimidated, if he were honest.
Tony gave him a long, amused look in reply. "What's the worst you could do? As long as the bushes aren't going to reach up and swallow people, I don't really care what they look like."
Steve gave a deep sigh. "You'd be surprised what can happen." Not that Steve wasn't confident he could do a good job- he wouldn't have accepted it if he didn't. Still- "I don't know whether to be flattered or critical of your blind faith in my abilities."
He tucked his notebook back into his pocket, and gave Tony a curious look, his eyes narrowing. "You're not really going to just sit there and watch me, are you? I mean, you can do whatever you want, I'm your employee right now, but...it just sounds awful boring."
He hadn't actually been intending to, but Tony couldn't help the wide smirk spreading across his mouth. "I'm a hands-on kind of guy," he declared, slipping his hands into his back pockets as he watched him almost lazily. "I like to supervise my employees."
Steve flushed at the look Tony was giving him, and swallowed, nodding almost absently. "That's...good." He cleared his throat and wet his lips before adding, "I'm gonna get back to work," and turning on his heel, starting in on the flats of flowers in the back.
Tony snickered to himself, and produced a phone from his pocket as he wandered over to a mostly-shady spot to hang out. He'd probably get bored of it before long, but anything that meant proving a point to Steve was fine by him.
Steve's coworker didn't stay long, heading back the as soon as the truck was empty. Steve sighed with relief and immediately started using the whole of his strength to move the plants and saplings around until he felt satisfied with the layout, shooting photos to remember where they were supposed to go.
It was two in the afternoon by the time he began stripping back the sod, the heat of the sun blazing out of the shade, making his hair and shirt plastered to him, dragging and sticking as he worked. Finally, with a frustrated huff, he stripped it off and tossed it onto the concrete pathway, sighing with relief as air brushed his superheated skin. "I'm going to have to eat soon," Steve said, glancing over to Tony as he went back to scraping up the layer of sod. "Do you have anything here or should I order something?" Maybe a silly question, but he lived in hope.
He may have intended to spend the time on his phone, but Tony found his attention drifting back to Steve every so often as he worked. Of course, when the stripping started, Tony wound up staring so hard it took him a moment to register that Steve was actually saying something.
"What?" He said with a startled blink, then mentally rewound. "Oh. We can order something. What do you want?"
Steve made a thinking face as he stretched out his stiff back, arms over his head. "Hrm," he hummed, and he headed over to the shade, relaxing against the wall next to Tony. The brick prickled against his pink arms and he frowned, but didn't move. He could bother with sunscreen if he wanted to, but if he was going to heal by morning, what was the point?
He glanced over to Tony and smiled. "How about subs?"
"Fine," Tony said after another moment or so of distraction. "Want me to go order?" And go inside for a moment. Where there were no shirtless people.
"Sure thing, Tony," Steve said, giving him a warm smile, though his head was tilted in a bit of an odd look. "I don't particularly have a preference- I'll eat anything. Just something with a lot of meat, I need the protein." And the calories, but he could wait on that. He'd just have to eat a ton at dinner.
"Go get yourself some water, too," he added kindly, patting him on the shoulder before heading back to his shovel. "You're acting a little funny, I think the heat's getting to you."
Text to Steve:
Boooooooored. Come entertain me.
Text to Tony:
Can't, sorry. :( At work, and working tomorrow, otherwise I'd come up after.
Wish I could. Skype when I'm off?
Text to Steve:
Pfft fine. Ignore me for the plants. I see how it is.
Text to Tony:
I need the money, unfortunately.
You're more fun than plants, if it's any consolation.
Text to Steve:
Of course I am.
Text to Tony:
...Tony, did you just order a large shipment of trees and plants with the specification that I had to help deliver?
Did you really just buy these so I would come visit you?
Text to Steve:
Who would do a thing like that? I have a nice shiny building that needs trees and things.
Texts to Tony:
Sure, Tony.
I miss you too.
My boss called me into his office to make sure you weren't stalking me.
He's pretty thrilled to have SI as a business contact, though. Didn't quite believe me when I said we were friends.
Text to Steve:
Hey, gimme his number. I can fix that.
Text to Tony:
Oh my god, Tony, don't call my boss.
Okay, I have to load up these plants you ordered. Can't text in the cab, but I guess I'll see you in about two hours.
Sure enough, two hours later, Steve was climbing out of the cab of the delivery truck in front of Tony's building. He smiled and shook his head, because he still couldn't believe Tony had actually done this (and neither could Robbie, his coworker driving the truck, for that matter.) He tugged at the green tee shirt from where it was sticking to his back, sweaty after the long drive with poor air conditioning, and pulled off his cap, pushing it into his back pocket and he made a quick attempt at straightening his hat hair.
"I'll go sign us in, Rob," he said before walking in through the doors, goosebumps raising at the blast of air conditioned air that met him. "Hey JARVIS," he said to the air, glancing up at the ceiling even though he knew that JARVIS didn't actually live in there. "Can you let Tony know I'm here? Tell him I have to have him sign for this delivery before we can start unloading."
"Of course, Captain," JARVIS said politely, though judging by the way the elevator doors opened moments later to reveal and entirely-too-innocent looking Tony, it was clear the request hadn't been necessary.
"Have you brought me my shrubbery?" Tony asked by way of a greeting.
Steve grinned because, hey, he got that reference! "I did," he said, giving him a quick nod and trying to keep a straight face as he added, "They're nice, but don't look expensive."
Remembering the clipboard in his hand, he set it on the counter and slid it towards him so he could pick it and the pen up for himself. "If you can sign and date at the dotted line, Mr. Stark," he said, the very image of professionalism, but there was a grin in his eyes, even if he managed to not let it show on his lips, "We'll get started installing these for us."
He slipped his hands in his pockets, one eyebrow arching. "I assume you have a layout of where you'd like them to go?" he said, though his voice implied he actually assumed the exact opposite.
"Wait, I need to come up with layouts? What exactly am I paying you for?" Tony snorted as he grabbed for the pen and scrawled out something that bore a passing resemblance to his name. "You're the artist. Do something artsy. Or don't. See if I care."
Steve couldn't help put laugh, shaking his head. "Really? You just...want some plants in your yard? Are you planning on putting any other elements out there, or...I don't know, mulch?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, I can come up with something, but it might take a little bit. I might have to send Robbie back, you'll have to work something out with my boss." He didn't bother telling Tony that he couldn't do that, because, well, Tony had a lot of money and didn't take no for an answer.
"What, you might have to stay here longer? Oh no. What a chore." He gave Steve a flat look. "Gimme your boss' number, I'll call him right now."
Steve's eyes narrowed, an exaggeration of shock as he pointed out the number on the paperwork. "You realize I'll be outside, right? You're really willing to to brave nature for me?"
"Nobody said I have to be outside," Tony said with a snort and tugged the papers out of his hand. "I get to sit in here and watch."
Steve immediately blushed brightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Why would you-" he started, only to abandon it. "Okay." He glanced behind him, gesturing vaguely. "I'm going to, um. Unload. So." He gestured again, then turned around sharply on his heel, heading back outside.
Tony made absolutely no attempt to hide his snickering, and detoured into the closest room to make the phone call.
A good ten minutes later, he sauntered right out of the building with a not particularly small smirk. "Your boss says if you followed me home, I can keep you," he called in Steve's direction.
Robbie shot him an odd look, but Steve wasn't surprised. It was a family owned business, and having Tony as a client could be a breakthrough for their business. Still, he rolled his eyes at Tony's smirk, even if he had one of his own. "This is just because you want me to stay in that room, isn't it? I'm onto you, Stark."
He wiped the back of his forehead, smudging it with dirt, and gestured for Tony to come over. "Here, I'll show you some ideas I had, just now. I'll have to look around and draw up some sketches tonight, but I want to run some things past you first."
"You're the art guy," Tony said with a snort, but meandered his way over, "I'm just the wallet. Do whatever you want." Though he did give the general area a critical, narrow-eyed look.
"You're making me wish I still had an inhaler," he said with a laugh, rolling his eyes a little. "I'm guessing you just want it to look pretty? Because we could do a pathway up to the entrance, line it with all those flowers you bought and some sort of mulch. Trees on your east and west facing sides will up your energy efficiency." He chewed at his lip with a glance over to Tony, then sighed. "Just promise you won't hate me if I screw this up." He felt confident he could do a decent job on it, but it was a lot of responsibility, and, well. He was a little intimidated, if he were honest.
Tony gave him a long, amused look in reply. "What's the worst you could do? As long as the bushes aren't going to reach up and swallow people, I don't really care what they look like."
Steve gave a deep sigh. "You'd be surprised what can happen." Not that Steve wasn't confident he could do a good job- he wouldn't have accepted it if he didn't. Still- "I don't know whether to be flattered or critical of your blind faith in my abilities."
He tucked his notebook back into his pocket, and gave Tony a curious look, his eyes narrowing. "You're not really going to just sit there and watch me, are you? I mean, you can do whatever you want, I'm your employee right now, but...it just sounds awful boring."
He hadn't actually been intending to, but Tony couldn't help the wide smirk spreading across his mouth. "I'm a hands-on kind of guy," he declared, slipping his hands into his back pockets as he watched him almost lazily. "I like to supervise my employees."
Steve flushed at the look Tony was giving him, and swallowed, nodding almost absently. "That's...good." He cleared his throat and wet his lips before adding, "I'm gonna get back to work," and turning on his heel, starting in on the flats of flowers in the back.
Tony snickered to himself, and produced a phone from his pocket as he wandered over to a mostly-shady spot to hang out. He'd probably get bored of it before long, but anything that meant proving a point to Steve was fine by him.
Steve's coworker didn't stay long, heading back the as soon as the truck was empty. Steve sighed with relief and immediately started using the whole of his strength to move the plants and saplings around until he felt satisfied with the layout, shooting photos to remember where they were supposed to go.
It was two in the afternoon by the time he began stripping back the sod, the heat of the sun blazing out of the shade, making his hair and shirt plastered to him, dragging and sticking as he worked. Finally, with a frustrated huff, he stripped it off and tossed it onto the concrete pathway, sighing with relief as air brushed his superheated skin. "I'm going to have to eat soon," Steve said, glancing over to Tony as he went back to scraping up the layer of sod. "Do you have anything here or should I order something?" Maybe a silly question, but he lived in hope.
He may have intended to spend the time on his phone, but Tony found his attention drifting back to Steve every so often as he worked. Of course, when the stripping started, Tony wound up staring so hard it took him a moment to register that Steve was actually saying something.
"What?" He said with a startled blink, then mentally rewound. "Oh. We can order something. What do you want?"
Steve made a thinking face as he stretched out his stiff back, arms over his head. "Hrm," he hummed, and he headed over to the shade, relaxing against the wall next to Tony. The brick prickled against his pink arms and he frowned, but didn't move. He could bother with sunscreen if he wanted to, but if he was going to heal by morning, what was the point?
He glanced over to Tony and smiled. "How about subs?"
"Fine," Tony said after another moment or so of distraction. "Want me to go order?" And go inside for a moment. Where there were no shirtless people.
"Sure thing, Tony," Steve said, giving him a warm smile, though his head was tilted in a bit of an odd look. "I don't particularly have a preference- I'll eat anything. Just something with a lot of meat, I need the protein." And the calories, but he could wait on that. He'd just have to eat a ton at dinner.
"Go get yourself some water, too," he added kindly, patting him on the shoulder before heading back to his shovel. "You're acting a little funny, I think the heat's getting to you."
