2277/Welcome Home, Dad

Welcome Home, Dad
Date of Scene:	19 May 2015
Location:	New York-199999
Synopsis:	Tony gets filled in on what's been going on during his one month absence. Plus he gets filled up with waffles.
Cast of Characters:	20, 301

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Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Despite her usual tossing and turning, even if Buster hadn't curled up at her feet and she had hardly slept on her own the last month, the blind girl had felt far better when she woke up than she had in weeks. Of course she had been a bit bewildered at first, wondering if it was a dream or not. But the fact that she 'saw' the familiar shape present in the house had made her relax, her fears pushed aside. And then she had taken a quick trip to the kitchen while she had talked on the radio. Jinx's attempt to challenge her had been ignored. Screw that, there are far more important things to handle.

    While she hasn't washed up yet, Toph has at least put up her hair in its usual bun and put on some clean clothes before she began with her task this morning, and she carries a breakfast tray with her out to the patio. Nothing fancy really, but the smell of waffles should be easy to identify. Even if all in varying hues of golden and crisp, as Toph isn't an expert on waffles just yet. Still, they have been showered with blueberries and powdered sugar. There are two glasses of orange juice, as well as a large mug of piping hot coffee, pitch black.

    It's all carried over to where Tony sits, and Toph seems a bit quiet still now that she's here. Though she does set the tray down on the table next to Tony's chair... and then she leans forward and wraps her arms around his shoulders, giving him a brief hug. "... hey."

    Luckily she doesn't seem intent on punching him today.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony's familiar shape had in fact spent much of the night sitting up unable to sleep, and so now as Toph catches up to it on the patio, he isn't immediately aware of her presence, his mind being far off somewhere as he half-dozes in the early morning sun. The clink of the tray being set down registers in the back of his mind a moment before she hugs him, so at least he's not wholly startled out of his wits.

He's rather placid, actually, which is almost more out of character. "Oh, hey," he murmurs a greeting, coming back slowly from wherever he'd been. His arm curls up to snug Toph's head against his shoulder and he rests his cheek briefly on the top of her head in return. He blinks his eyes into focus on the food offerings. "Hey, thanks but I don't think I really..." his stomach growls, and he frowns. He hadn't thought he had an appetite. All he'd managed to eat the night before was a VERY light dinner of some bread and cheese.

But then he'd used a lot of calories since then, too.

"Uh, thanks," he amends, and reaches for one of the glasses of orange juice. "So," he sips, his brain declares it 'good' and he plucks up some blueberries to follow it into his mouth. "I seem to have a lot to catch up on. You want to fill me in?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Toph complies with the hug, closing her eyes before opening them again as she pulls back. The weak protest earns a snort. "Your stomach wants food, so eat," she states before she reaches out to pull a chair right next to the table and Tony's chair. It's good that he's getting something to eat and drink, and since Pepper most likely will have several things to clear up today now that Tony is back and no longer dead, then Toph sees it as her duty to take care of Tony. He probably needs it too, he had sounded a bit distant on the radio. Heck, she had been shocked when she herself woke up after two weeks after the incident with Mu, and now Tony wakes up and learns he had been dead for a whole month. The situations might be close enough for Toph to think that she knows partially what Tony is going through.

    She nods her head once when he thanks her for the breakfast. "You got me breakfast when I woke up after that shitty incident with that spirit last year... only fair I fix breakfast this time," she shrugs and picks up her glass of juice, taking a large sip of it.

    Then he asks that difficult question. Toph lowers her glass, letting out a heavy sigh as she is clearly doing her best to find the most appropriate way to describe the last month. She reaches out to take a waffle, rolling it up to keep the blueberries and powdered sugar inside, and then she leans back in her chair with a pensive look on her face. "... you were killed on Reptilion. Pepper went there in the RESCUE suit to try to save you, but..." The blind girl doesn't finish that sentence. What she means to say should be easily figured out.

    "It was a freaking mess afterwards. All of it. Reports, the press..." Toph snorts and draws a deep breath. "Then we made a deal with Serori about the Dragon Balls. Psyber did this mumbo jumbo deal thingie on her that she had to follow, which included using one of the wishes to restore all the Elites who had died during the conflict with Kakarot and his dunderheads."

    Then her expression is mock stern. "I had to hold up a city and an ancient pyramid for your sake. AND go underwater." So you better appreciate it!

    "Kakarot was killed the other day... and so Serori finally got around to wishing yesterday," Toph finishes.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
'You died on Reptilon.'

That line hangs for a moment at the front of Tony's conscious mind, and he frowns as he tries to think back on that time. He remembers finding the two Saiyan Lieutenants hiding out on the opposite side of the dome. Blowing them up. Discovering they were a lot tougher than anticipated. A really HARD slam of kinetic energy, crashing backward into the side of the dome...

And that's when everything got weird.

He closes his eyes and shivers faintly, before reaching for his own waffle, though he cuts into it with knife and fork rather than rolling it up. "Did I save those people, at least?" he wants to know. I mean it would kind of suck to die for nothing. Something else Toph said interacts with 'saving people' in his brain and he pauses mid-chew. "Wait, Pepper used the RESCUE suit? ...shit," he murmurs, eyes going distant again as he resumes mastication. "I guess it was bad," he admits. "But that was going to be my wedding present to her."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Toph nods her head at his question, a bit quiet at this topic. Which isn't too weird. "Your ego would burst if you were to hear all the words they said about you. The news wouldn't shut up about it," she states. Though she can't help but blink when he seems upset about how Pepper used the RESCUE suit, tilting her head. "Well, of course it was bad! And... your wedding present?"

    Some people give their spouse to be jewellery or fancy stuff. Tony built Pepper a /suit/. Which isn't so strange really when she thinks about it, considering that he's Tony Stark. He's gotta do everything in style, doesn't he?

    "Guess you have to come up with something else then," Toph simply shrugs and takes a bite of her waffle. "Pepper totally has used the suit more, so she obviously likes it."

    She chews for a few seconds. Might as well say the minor stuff. "I destroyed the equipment of a pesky news team who thought they could get a sob interview from me." Just in case they try to bill them now. As for what else happened? "I managed to make Pepper take a whole day off for mother's day. Which you /missed/," she adds with a snort. "Oh, I also saved the Tyranno elders from Kakarot. And Rex had combined DNA from the badgermole he kidnapped last year with a Pokemon and made this pseudo-badgermole, he gave it to me after I saved the elders. Some of the badgermoles have moved to Dun Realtai."

    Okay, that's the most important stuff from the last weeks that she can think of right now.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony can't help but smile a little bit at Toph's description of the media storm surrounding his death. It is, after all, how he would have wanted it. As for Rescue though, "Well, I mean, of course it was bad, yeah, and... it was an emergency and that's why I had Jarvis ready to reveal the suit to her just in /case/... but I'd really been hoping to present it in person. Under... better circumstances," he concludes with a frown and swallows his bite of waffle hard.

"It's good she likes it though," he tries to look at the silver lining. And then he shoots Toph a hard sideways stare. "Something ELSE?" he asks in dismay. "How am I going to tip prototyping a brand new billion-and-a-half-dollars suit of flying power armor?" He stares off into the middle distance, for some reason imagining a badgermole in an Iron Man suit. But that's silly.

He shakes his head and draws a short breath. "I'm sorry I missed Mother's Day," he murmurs. "Especially if you managed to get her to take it OFF, geeze... so what'd you guys do?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Basically everybody helped pitch in, either with the Dragon Balls, or with stopping Kakarot," Toph adds and licks her fingers briefly to get rid of some powdered sugar. "Man... they aren't going to be any quieter now that you're back, are they...?" Still, Tony should consider it with how many people had been there yesterday when he was revived. Surely Jarvis can point Tony to some articles and news segments concerning his death. Add in how Pepper and Toph had reacted when he returned... and perhaps Tony would really see how his legacy has changed now compared to when Yinsen spoke about it in that dark cave many years ago.

    "You know," Toph shrugs, "You could do something sweet. Like write her a song or something. Pepper doesn't love you /just/ for your money, dunderhead. Or your fancy gadgets."

    Oh right, Mother's day. Toph takes another bite, then speaks with her mouth full. Tries to at least, before she quickly chews and swallows. "She takes being a mother seriously, it's just the right kind of tone and appeal to her maternal instinct." Oh yes, Toph can be devious. "As for what we did? We ordered takeout food, ate snacks and listened to old radio programs while lounging about on the couch in Stark tower. And we wore pjs all day." It does look like the blind earthbender is relaxing a bit more where she sits, pulling her legs up and resting her feet on the chair. "I'll just have to persuade her to take the day off for Father's day too."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony will, in fact have Jarvis fill him in on a lot of the details, and has already had that discussion with the AI. But for now, hearing the highlights from a fellow human being seems more helpful. And all he can handle just at the moment. He smiles softly to himself at the mental image of Toph and Pepper lounging around in their PJs listening to The Shadow, and the only thing that puts an edge on it is his regret that he couldn't be there for it.

You know what, that's it, once he's married he's hiring some more help at the top so he and Pepper they can all have some more /family/ time.

But not TOO family. He turns a little green around the gills at Toph's suggestions about Pepper's maternal streak, or Father's Day. Yeah, okay, he's come to grips with being Toph's /dad/. But what she's suggesting is a little different, and more terrifying. He focuses on cutting up some more of the waffle, instead, and jokes, "Well until we started dating and it would have gotten /weird/ I guess she kind of used her maternal instincts taking care of me."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Toph pops some more blueberries into her mouth where she lounges. It was indeed nice to spend the day with Pepper, even if Tony was missing. It would have been perfect if he was there, really. Because time spent just relaxing and having fun with Tony and Pepper is some of the best spent time that doesn't involve bending or fighting.

    Perhaps it's good that Toph can't see the look on his face when she mentions a few keywords there. And even if she didn't mean them in /that/ way that he is interpreting them now, well... it's a good thing she doesn't decide to prod when she hears his heart race briefly.

    Instead she smiles a little and reaches for her orange juice. "Yeah, now she spends that time taking care of me too. It... made things easier for her, I think." Pause. "I hope." Heck, she had retreated to her room when they got home. Even if she wanted to spent time with Tony, she knew that Pepper had missed him too. Besides, they are spending time together now.

    "I took care of Pepper too," she adds.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"Thank you," Tony says softly, his eyes downcast again. "I'm... sorry I died." Wow, that sounds even more idiotic out loud than it did in his head. "I mean--" he tries to reword that, "--I'm sorry I... wasn't more careful, I left you hanging like that, I... god, I just, it was so /fast/. I wish I'd had something better than Jarvis to say goodbye by proxy..." he lifts a knuckle to his face to swipe away a quick tear. "I'm... glad you two had each other, at least."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    At the apology Toph blinks, not really expecting that. To hear Tony apologize for something... that is rare. Not many people get to witness this side of him, and the earthbender knows it. With her feet up she can't tell that he is crying at least, if that helps him. She picks up one of the blueberries from her waffle... and throws it aimed at the side of his head. "Next time you bring us along! Seriously, with my metalbending now I could bend your suit out of the way easily!"

    Her expression turns a bit softer, and she reaches out to punch Tony's arm slightly. "We're all family now anyway. And we're a family who kick ass together."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony offers up a wan smile at the punch. "Well, when I first got there I wasn't expecting to--" pause, sharp breath. "--I mean, I was just there to make sure Kakarot didn't try to pull anything funny on Lita. And then when I picked up those rogue bio-signatures, I... well it all started moving pretty fast. That's just how things go sometimes." He frowns to himself. "I'm not sure getting me out of the armor would have done much good anyway. Jarvis says it was pretty... quick."

Awkward talk. He quickly stuffs another forkful of waffle and blueberries into his mouth. And then he tries to be cheeky about it to make it less awful. "But hey, if Pepper's embraced the heroing thing now, maybe I can have some nights off."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "I could have bended you and the armour aside easily!" Toph claims when Tony speaks about the fight which he seems to remember well enough. Yeah, Jarvis did say it was quick.

    "The next time you die better be of old age. And peacefully in a bed with your family around you." Not alone in battle. Heck, Toph points a finger straight at his face. "That is an order."

    Yeah, let's move away from the awkward talk. It's easier to talk about other things instead. "You have enough nights off. But I bet she'll let you relax for a few days. I skipped fighting today for your sake too, Jinx was totally calling me out." Tony is more important. "So... bad amusement park, huh?" she asks, sounding a bit curious.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"...yeah," Tony agrees, getting that distant look on his face again. He leans back in his deck chair, wiping a bit of powdered sugar off on his jeans. He's not actually sure how much of that he's ready to talk about just yet. "It was... surreal," he decides finally. "Like I was in a really long line of people -- dead people, I guess, waiting to get into this place. Like an amusement park line. And I mean a LONG line. Of all kinds of people. Humans, Reptilonians..." his brow furrows, "I got knocked on my ass by a big panda guy when I tried to cut through the line. And there were these talking dogs. with clipboards." He raises his hand to his face and presses the heel firmly against one eye before shaking his head again. "It was weird," he reiterates. "But I did see Brachio and even though he's an asshole he was the only person I recognized so I went up to him and then they hustled us through together because we were celebrities or something."

"I really have no idea how much of this actually happened and how much was my brain throwing shit against the wall in its death throes."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Okay.

    The blind girl blinks as Tony begins explaining how death was. And she immediately wonders if there's something wrong with her pancake. "It does sound a bit weird, yeah. Hell, it sounds outright weird." What kind of weird afterlife would be like that anyway? It makes no sense.

    Toph stuffs the rest of her waffle into her mouth, then chews and swallows it quickly. "Oh well, what matters is that you're back now. Buster missed you lots, he was going around meowing, and he was sleeping in your spot too," she explains while wiping her hands on her shirt, getting blueberry stains on it. "Anyway, since I spent all of Mother's day with Pepper, I can spend today with you now you're back. It can be Tony appreciation day or something." Toph shrugs a bit, then picks up her orange juice and downs the rest of it.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony relaxes visibly on realizing he doesn't have to delve into his memory of death any further just now. "Every day should be me appreciation day," he approves with a grin. This fades only slightly as he ponders, "I'm not sure how much I really want to /do/ today though. I'm still kind of... decompressing. We should probably go check on the chocobos, I guess. If Cuddles hasn't had any beer for two weeks she's gonna be pissy." But hey, maybe wrestling with an ornery war chocobo is just what he needs. "What do you say to a ride around the point?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Some people might complain about Tony, and Toph herself does do so at times though. Though it's clear she does appreciate her adoptive father. And Toph nods her head when he states he doesn't want to do much. "I don't blame you. I can go out and pick up some food or something later for dinner, and we can watch some movies, I can help you with stuff in the workshop if you want a pair of extra hands," Toph offers. Just having him at home is the best, even more when they can just do braindead activities.

    Oh right, the chocobos. Toph blinks, then shudders at the thought of a grumpy Cuddles. And ugh, riding. "I guess I do have to get more used to riding on Nugget," she concedes with a sigh. "But you ride first and lead the way so she doesn't go over a cliff or something! I'm not ending up in the ocean today!"

    Yup. It's good to have him back and being able to argue about silly things again.