livingmyths | 011: Embarrassed

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011: Embarrassed

I'm feeling really pretty foolish today, but, judging from the other things I saw, at least I wasn't the only one and I was luckier than some people.

Abby, thank you for taking such good care of me. And please forget everything I said about - well, about practically everything.

Mr. Stark, I'm really sorry I didn't show up to work yesterday. I know it was supposed to be my first day and all, but I... really wasn't myself. I'm at the library right now, but if you still want me I can come today.

Anybody else, well, I'm kind of gonna be working in the most out-of-the-way places I can in the library.

And is it really true that Ianto's gone? He was so nice to me. I'm gonna really, really miss him, if it's true.

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"Well good, that's exactly what I need, as you can see..." he gestured with his hand to the apartment. While it wasn't messy, it definitely showed evidence of needing dusting an a few other things.

"If you need to get into the other rooms... everything here is automated. If you want a door to open you just say, 'Door, open.' Same thing with closing. If you want music to play, just say, 'Music, play...' and then state what you'd like to hear."

She nodded absently, already going over what would need to be done, then looked up at him. "Wait. I just tell things to happen and they will?"

Tony gave a bit of a smile and shook his head.

"It doesn't quite work that way with everything. But things like the TV, radio, doors... things that you normally do by hand, you can ask the computers to do," he explained. "Why don't you give it a try? Pick some music."

She looked at him hesitantly, then turned towards the center of the room. "Music, play... native american flute music? Please?

There was a slight pause before the music started playing, a random selection of Native American flute music playing. Tony thought the please was cute though, maybe he should make that a requirement.

"See?"

Rain beamed up at him. "Oh, that's wonderful! And well, shouldn't one always say please?"

She stopped then, looking a bit puzzled, and looked around. She could have sworn she'd heard... But no, her friend didn't seem to be anywhere around.

"I suppose you always should, maybe I should make that a requirement for it working," he said, smiling back at her. He noticed her glancing around and quirked an eyebrow.

"Is something wrong?"

"I thought... she frowned again. "I thought I could hear my friend."

Rain turned and looked at him, feeling very confused as she tried to listen - not specifically to him, but for -

Her eyes went wide. "Iron Man?" she breathed.

A sly smile came across Tony's lips as he saw the realization dawn on her. While he may not know her all that well he had no doubts that he could trust her with his secret.

"Guilty as charged," he admitted.

"Oh!" Her hands flew to her mouth.

"I, oh!" She reached out as if to touch him, then pulled her hands back before they reached him, clasping them tightly, letting her eyes touch him again as she tried to make the two images match.

"But why did you, he, you - you want me to work for you?"

Tony just continued to smile as her hand extended towards him, as if she was going to touch him to make sure he was real. It was amusing that she more readily believed Iron Man existed than Tony Stark.

"If you'd still be willing to," Tony said.

"Yes, of course," Rain assured him. "I just... this is all really confusing."

"Are you really... do you really look like this or do you still look like yourself - your other self - Iron Man - and my brain is just not working right again?" She looked a little worried. "Sometimes my head does stuff like that."

Now Tony felt a little bad, just realizing how Rain might perceive all of this, that she might think that something was wrong with her.

"I'm Tony Stark. This is what I look like. I have a suit of armor that I put on that I use to become Iron Man. We're the same person, I just have a secret identity."

"Can I - can I touch you?" It would help her feel Iron Man in him and know it really was the same person.

"Of course you can," he said, reaching out a hand towards her. He hoped if he initiated it, it would show her that he really didn't mind.

"You can watch me put the armor on, if you'd like."

Rain touched his hand delicately, closing her eyes and listening, then she opened them again with a smile. "You are him! You, I mean!"

She clasped her hands under her chin again. "You don't have to, oh, I know you're you. Except, yes, because I think it would be wonderful to see! And don't worry, you're right, I wouldn't tell anyone."

Tony grinned in response to Rain's smile, glad that it was settled that Tony really was himself and not someone else entirely.

"Alright, let me take off my clothes then. But don't worry, the undersheath is stored in the hollow of my bones and comes out like a second skin when I want it, so I won't be naked or anything like that."

Rain couldn't help but remember what Abby had said the other day and tried hard not to laugh. "All right," she said.

"Okay. And the armor is going to come floating out of that room behind you," he warned her.

Tony called out the golden undersheath as he began to remove his clothes so that when his clothes were off he wasn't naked. Not that it left much to the imagination, but he wasn't nude. Once he was done, the parts of the armor came floating from the room to assemble onto his body.

Rain watched intently, the whole process fascinating to her. The golden undersheath made her fingers itch to touch it, so she clasped them tightly together yet again.

And then her attention was caught by the pieces floating in and turning Mr. Stark into her Iron Man.

"Oh..." she breathed out in a whisper.

The armor formed on him in almost an instant, feeling almost literally like a second skin to Tony. The armor was an extension of his own mind and body so much so that he was practically a cyborg.

"And now you have Iron Man."

She reached out to touch him again, having seen in his mind that first time that it didn't bother him.

Rain's eyes closed so she could listen once more and again she smiled.

"It's the same. Just now you sort of... there's a hum to you."

The faceplate to the helmet opened up and he smiled at her, watching as she focused more on his mind.

"It's probably not like a lot of people's mind," he told her. "I'm not exactly normal."

That startled her again and she had to take a minute to adjust to seeing Mr. Stark's face inside Iron Man's.

Then she laughed at the incongruity of his comment. "To me all minds feel different. And I am the last to be bothered by someone not being exactly normal. I'm not normal at all."

"No you're not," he agreed. "You're very, very special."

And he meant it too, and her being special had little to do with her abilities. He didn't know many people who were as kind as Rain.

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