Awkward Conversations
The elevator doors opened once they made it onto what Heilyn assumed was Tony’s floor. It had been the loudest silence of his life. He could practically smell the self-recrimination coming off of the man at his side, and he didn’t like it. So he did what he did best. He opened his mouth and started talking, hoping to be so awkward that the other man would have to snap out of it to stop him.
‘Oh, nice. This is much better,’ he started, looking around. He wasn’t actually seeing much of the decor, but the other man didn’t need to know that. ‘I thought for a minute that if I took the job, I’d have to be down there and make nice with that guy. I mean, the view from that floor was phenomenal, but the company was less so.’
He had no idea what he was even saying, but it didn’t seem to be getting through to Stark. The man was standing by the elevator still, seemingly lost in thought.
Heilyn shoved his hands into his pockets and scuffed the toe of his sneakers along the pristine floor.
He was about to open his mouth to keep rambling when Jarvis cut in. He was pathetically grateful for the interruption if he was being honest.
‘Sir, if I might interject. Perhaps you should start reviewing Mister Kalua’s contract.’
The AI was clearly trying not to show how much he was worried about his creator, but Heilyn could hear it. It was all there in the hesitance in his voice.
It seemed to work though, as Stark snapped out of his thoughts and seemingly shrugged off the words his teammate had thrown at him. Heilyn wasn't sure that he believed the show of cheer that Stark was trying to put on.
‘Right you are J!’ he said, flashing his media grin at both the ceiling and then Heilyn.
He just raised an eyebrow, not impressed at all.
Tony obviously understood the silent message, as he cleared his throat nervously after a moment and moved further into the room.
‘Right, so. Jarvis sent you a contract a while back. Did you have any questions? Concerns?’ Stark asked, coming to stand a few feet away from Heilyn.
Heilyn took in the focused look in the man’s eyes and realised exactly why Tony had been so very successful at what he did. Not only was the man a genius, but he was a good businessman. It was a rare combination that had worked to make him one of the most successful men in the world.
‘Actually, yeah,’ Heilyn said, trying his best not to get lost in the big brown eyes staring at him. ‘I mean, I didn’t, but then I met Captain Sanctimonious back there. When you say ‘Personal Chef,’ what exactly do you mean? Did you mean just for you, or for your whole team?’
Tony’s surprised bark of laughter made Heilyn’s heart do a little flip in his chest, and he fought valiantly against the flush that wanted to raise to his cheeks. Being able to make this man laugh was a heady feeling.
‘Nice, I’ll have to remember that one!’ Tony said, shoulders loosening after his laughter died away. ‘And I was more thinking just me.’
Heilyn watched as Tony looked away for the first time since their conversation had started. The man looked out over the view he had of New York with a shrug.
‘I’m already paying to feed and house my team, why should I share my food if I don’t have to, right?’ he said, a bitter tone lacing the words.
Heilyn frowned.
‘It’s not my place to ask, but…’ he paused and bit his lip, thinking better of the question just a second too late.
He looked up at the gesture the other man made, asking him to continue.
‘Why are you paying to house and feed them? I mean, they were capable of doing that before they came into your life, why did that have to change?’
He didn’t look away after his words. He wanted to see the response in it’s entirety. It also made him feel a bit like a hypocrite. If he took the job and started living in the tower, how would he be any different from those freeloaders.
Tony’s face blanked, but Heilyn could see the surprise in the slight widening of his eyes.
‘Well yeah, but, it’s not like I can’t afford it. No need to be selfish, right?’
Heilyn worked hard not to let the sympathy he felt show on his face. He got the feeling that not only was Tony just repeating what had been said to him so many times, but that questioning it any further, or showing any emotions at that moment would send him running. He also didn’t want to make the man any more defensive than he currently was.
Heilyn hummed noncommittally. It really was what he had expected. People tended to take advantage of what they could, and how best to make a genius like Tony Stark do what they wanted? Wear him down until he couldn’t refute them. From the look of it, the people surrounding him weren’t doing much good for his mental health.
‘So, if I was to come live here, how much would rent be?’ he asked, having thought of the obvious solution. If he didn’t want to be a freeloader, then he could just pay rent.
The blank look was back, and Heilyn had to bite back a sigh. Someone had done their best to break a perfectly good human being, and it had been working from the look of things.
‘Rent?’ Tony echoed, confusion clear in his tone even if it wasn’t on his face.
‘Yeah, I could barely afford the place I have right now, although if you insist on the salary you put in that contract – which I still think is overkill by the way,’ he said, pointing at the other man, trying to make him see that he was being serious, ‘then I guess it shouldn’t be much of an issue. I’d still like to have a number to start thinking about budgeting my living expenses and whatnot.’
‘Wha- no. The room is part of the contract,’ Tony came back to himself enough to argue. ‘Are you really arguing for less pay? And having to pay expenses on top?’
Heilyn felt bad for the confusion he was putting the genius through, but not enough to capitulate to his expectations.
He nodded. Yes, that was exactly what he was doing.
‘Ha!’ Tony laughed, sounding half hysterical. ‘Are you hearing this J?’
Heilyn frowned in concern. Was it really such a foreign concept?
‘Yes,’ the AI drawled, ‘imagine it, someone wanting to pay their own way and not take advantage of your innate kindness. What is the world coming to?’
Heilyn had to turn away from the genius to hide his laughter, but he didn’t think it worked very well. Jarvis was surprisingly funny, he was finding.
‘I think I’m going to like working with you, Jarvis!’ Heilyn called to the AI with a grin over Tony’s sputtering.
‘I as well,’ Jarvis said, sounding quietly delighted to Heilyn’s ears.
‘So I take it you were the one in charge of drafting up my contract?’
‘Indeed. Sir made the specifications; salary, hours, and provisions, but the drafting of the document was my job.’
Heilyn smiled as they ignored Tony still muttering to himself in the background.
‘Would you mind putting something in there about renting a room in the tower then? It could probably just come out of the salary before it comes to me, that might be the best option,’ he continued, mostly thinking out loud at that point. ‘Oh, and maybe cut the salary in half or so. That’s way too much.’
‘Of course sir. I shall draft up another contract for you to look over before you leave.’
Heilyn smiled, but it dropped after a second. A frown came over his face as he thought of a very important question.
‘Where do I look for you?’
‘Sorry?’ the AI asked hesitantly.
‘I assume you have camera’s or something that serve as your eyes. When I want to thank you, or look you in the eye, where do I look?’
There was a stunned silence from both Jarvis and Tony, and Heilyn suddenly wondered if he had asked an insensitive question. Or maybe he was just supposed to have worked it out already, and they thought he was stupid.
‘I’m sorry, was that insensitive? I swear, I didn’t mean any offense!’ he said, hoping he was reading that right. It wouldn’t do to offend the biggest presence in Tony’s life if he was going to be working so closely with him.
He turned to look at the other man and found him gaping at him, shock clear on his face.
‘There are camera’s in most rooms, although for privacy reasons, they are able to be turned off upon request,’ Jarvis started, sounding just as surprised as his creator. ‘Just look up at the ceiling, or into the corners of the room when addressing me if you want my attention. Simply calling my name will have the same effect.’
‘Alright,’ Heilyn said, nodding to himself. That wasn’t really what he had meant, but it was good to know. ‘I actually meant as a courtesy, so that when we’re talking I can give you my full attention.’
He was careful to look over into one of the corners, where a camera had just given itself away with a blinking light. Heilyn gave a little wave to show his appreciation. The AI didn’t have to bring attention to any of his hardware, that had been purely for Heilyn’s benefit.
‘Huh.’
He turned at the noise from Tony. The man had managed to get his expression under control, but was giving Heilyn a curious look that made his eyes sparkle unfairly.
‘So, you’re taking the job then?’
Heilyn nodded firmly.
‘As long as you take into account my concerns, then yeah. You’re good company, and Jarvis is awesome. Besides, I saw the number of takeout containers in your fridge the other day when I was cleaning. You need more home cooked meals.’
-----
Tony felt like it was just one surprise after another with this man. Luckily for him, he liked a challenge, and it didn’t hurt that the other man was quite easy on the eyes.
Then there was the question of electronics and what supposedly happened when they interacted with him. He desperately wanted some answers about that little quirk, but the look in the other’s eyes was still bugging him. He didn’t want to be someone who let the man down. He wanted him to trust him, so it would have to wait.
There was also the matter of the little scuffle that had happened when Heilyn had gotten there earlier and encountered Rogers. He had been on his way to meet with the other man, lost in thought about the upcoming meeting when the elevator doors had opened onto a very interesting scene. Rogers had been standing a few feet from Heilyn, looking a little unsteady on his feet, with a hand print burnt into his shirt. Judging by the ready stance that Heilyn had been standing in, he guessed Rogers had been getting out of hand and something had happened. He would definitely be checking out the footage from that moment when he got a chance.
There was so much about the man that drew Tony in. He felt like a kid at Christmas, standing in front of the most enticing present, waiting for permission to start unwrapping it.
And wasn’t that an interesting feeling? He felt alive for the first time in so long. He wondered briefly when he had stopped living. When had he stopped enjoying his life?
The shock of the man refusing to take the salary he had offered had been nothing compared to when he had started talking to Jarvis like he was a person and not just a very advanced search engine. His brain had actually shut down in surprise when that had happened, and had taken an embarrassingly long time to turn back on.
Once it had, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Jarvis, his beloved child, had taken full advantage of his lack of awareness to agree to every term the other man had set. It just didn’t make sense. Who demanded to pay rent when they were offered a place to live for free?
He had the feeling that introducing Jarvis and Heilyn had been a bad idea.
‘You two are not allowed to gang up on me!’ he said pointing a finger first at Jarvis, and then at Heilyn.
‘Oh course not, sir,’ came the patronizing response from Jarvis. He got the feeling that was the tone that a parent used to placate a child having a tantrum. Just which one of them was the parent here? Jarvis was his child, dammit!
Worse was the response from Heilyn, who just raised an eyebrow disbelievingly.
‘I thought I was your carer? That means you have to do what I tell you,’ he pointed out with a pointed look that lost a lot of its punch as Tony got a bit trapped staring at his bright golden eyes.
‘Hmmm, mistakes may have been made,’ Tony said, after managing to pull his eyes away from the other man’s.