"Will you?" Steve asked.
"I…" Tony paused. He knew what he wanted. He wanted his company back; he'd fought so hard so for it. He knew that with all the destruction he'd caused, a new direction would be welcomed, and he could regain control without becoming the Merchant of Death again. He could lead StarkIndustries away from weapons and towards green energy, towards the future. He was just going to miss this...life he'd found in the midst of everything, that was all. "I don't think so."
The words clearly shocked the group at large, though Steve seemed suspiciously unsurprised. The man really did know him too well for his own good.
"You want to be CEO again?" Pepper's voice hit a particularly shrieky note Tony was pretty sure he hadn't heard since his pre-Afghanistan days.
"Maybe?" Tony winced. "I mean…when I left, everything went to hell. Maybe this is a sign I need to—"
"You don't need to take it back, you'll go bankrupt, SI is—"
"Collapsing, I know, but if I did away with—"
"We went over this last year, it's a weapons company, you can't do away with the weapons, what else—"
"There's green energy, we have the RT technology—"
"It's something pretty to show off to investors, it's not a viable new direction for the—"
"It is if I minimize it, make it a cost-efficient substitute for—"
"Tony, that could take—"
"Not for me—"
"This is a horrible idea, I—"
"You'll come back with me though, won't you?"
"Don't be stupid." Pepper glared at him. "Someone has to make sure you don't burn the building down."
"Have I mentioned lately what a perfect human being you are?"
"Have I mentioned lately how terrifying it is when you two have conversations like that?" Clark wrinkled his nose at them. "I'm still not sure what just happened."
"Tony's taking back his company." Steve smiled at him, and Tony was thrown. Was that…
"Are you…proud of me? Is that a proud smile?" Tony poked Steve's face experimentally.
"Stop that." Steve batted his hand away, but his smile just grew wider. "Yes, it is. I'm proud of you for taking back your company like that. I'm sure you'll rebuild it stronger than ever."
"See!" Tony insisted to Pepper. "Steve believes in me!"
"Steve would believe in you if you told him you were going to sprout wings and fly to the moon, excuse me if I'm a little more realistic." Pepper rolled her eyes.
Clark burst into laughter and Natalie hid a snort, while Tony made an indignant sort of sound and Steve flushed in protest.
"I would not—"
The door banged open, and Robert Downey walked in. All five adults looked at him in surprise, but he didn't seem bothered.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" He was looking at Tony, though Tony couldn't imagine why.
"Me?" Tony pointed to himself. "I thought Steve-o here was your favorite."
"Can I talk to you or not?" Robert scowled, hands in his pockets, the picture of teenage angst, and Tony shrugged.
"Okay." He hopped off the table. "Can we get a minute, guys?"
Steve offered his classroom as a substitute place for lunch, and they quickly cleared out.
"So what's the fuss, kiddo?"
"It's serious. Can you be serious?"
"I think I'll manage. Is this a puberty thing?"
"No. I mean, well—"
"Yes you should shower every day, no you won't go blind if you touch yourself a lot, yes there's supposed to be hair down there, no you shouldn't shave it. That's it, that's all I got—"
"Jesus, it's not a puberty thing!" Robert exclaimed, though his face was getting a little red. "Look, you're my best bet, so will you just hear me out?"
"Well come on then, out with it."
"It's about another student." Robert ducked his head in probably the first time since Tony had known him. "A guy."
"You getting bullied? Tell me who, Steve and I'll put the fear of god in that fucker—"
"No, I mean, he's not…it's not like that."
"Oh." Didn't take a genius to figure it out. "You like him."
"Yeah."
"Does he swing your way?"
"What?"
"Is he gay."
"Oh. I think so."
"So tell him."
"I…he's…" Robert scrubbed a hand over his face. "This is so weird, but he's kind of like Mr. Robinson."
"You're right. That's really weird."
