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[ See him there he will indeed. He gives it an hour or so, time enough he hopes for Tony to get through any rogue acts of heroism, make it to the Diadem and leave Jason to go on his own merry way.

Eventually: ]

I'm in the foyer

[ It's an odd turn of the circle. Central City is the first place he met Tony, before he knew he knew him. Now here they are, both knowing one another from another world altogether, and Tony almost certainly not knowing him from this one.

He waits in the grand foyer of the Diadem, back to a wall and eyes on his phone, browsing through reports of the Confluence as he waits. ]

[ don't ask him which cup of coffee he's on because he has been overindulging on it ever since the first cup he managed to get his hands on. he shoots stephen a quick omw before he makes the short trip to the foyer. he swung by his room only long enough to see if there was anything of value but didn't loiter for long; instead, he spent the remaining time exploring the diadem, while he caught up on current events and whatever data he could find on this world and his apparent alt.

spotting stephen with ease, tony approaches him still wearing the running clothes he came falling through the sky in.

he lifts a gloved hand in greeting, all the while cradling his coffee in the other. ]

So, let me guess, you've been here for some time.

[ And there he is, fresh out of New Amsterdam, coming in with coffee and the confirmation of Stephen's suspicions. Stephen pockets his phone on Tony's approach, smile hitching in spite of himself.

Tony's spirits are high. That's good. ]

Good guess. Little over a year.

[ He'll let that sink in before he elaborates any further. ]

[ his brows furrow slightly. ]

Little over a year, huh? [ he can come up with his own explanation for it, but feel free to elaborate, stephen. ] What was the last thing you remember before you won the Confluence lottery ticket?

Just another day at the bar. Clarke and I went public as Displaced not too long ago, I recently struck a deal to make a little merch money off of the talent show.

[ By 'talent show' he does of course mean mega budget televised singing competition. It's an approximate timeline assist if nothing else.

But here comes the important question, casual as he can deliver it... ]

You?

The singing competition in July? [ that was two months ago, wasn't it? ]

Looks like I'm ahead of you by a few months. [ —and considerably behind here. ] I'll fill you in on the nitty gritty details later [ because there is a lot to cover, starting with jimmy. ] when we're not so... [ he looks around them. ] public.

[ there is one piece of troubling news he should share right now though. ]

Peter might have ran away from home though. [ a beat. ] Oh, yeah! The renovation on our apartment is done. It looks great. Very livable. Possibly very empty right now, unless we're both still there. [ timey wimey shenanigans. we know the drill. ]

[ Wow, there is a lot going on here, Tony. Not least the insinuation that he's both from the future and somehow seemingly not the future Stephen's been at least partially forewarned of, the one that left Tony in the state he'd been before. There's no trace of that in him now.

But it's easy to allow it to be put off. And don't think he doesn't notice you sliding Peter's great escape in under the cover of a finished apartment, Anthony Stark. ]

Nice shit sandwich. [ Home details!! (btw Peter's run away,) apartment finished!! Not that Stephen actually seems irritated by it, just amused. ] Do you have a room yet? You can fill me in on Peter on the way.

Thanks. I thought it was pretty tactful myself. [ he isn't even a little bit sorry. ]

A room here? At the Diadem? [ he waves at their current surrounding as he starts to follow him. ] Sure, I have one. But I was thinking that I could move in with you. [ he motions at himself with a cheeky grin. ] I'm already all packed.

[ he doesn't have much to his name here — or at least none that he personally made for himself. ]

So, Peter. [ time to talk serious. ] You know that trip to the Americas that Thor was arranging? Well, he decided to sneak off to it without telling us. And from my best guess, it has something to do with a boy. [ he sounds far more amused than mad about it tbqh ]

[ Oh, he's already planning on moving in, is he? Color Stephen exactly 0% surprised, as the look on his face shows when he levels it Tony's way - trying for non-plussed, stumbling at the hurdle of wry amusement. ]

And here I thought you might want to try fending for yourself for five minutes.

[ There's an edge to it but it's an edge of play as he winds through the hotel's clientele toward the elevators. They can deal with an official move once they've managed a little privacy - and once Tony's had a chance to decide whether Sunset Falls is really his vibe. ]

I do not know that trip to the Americas that Thor was arranging. I also didn't know Peter had a crush significant enough to elope with to the New New World.

[ What in the heck did he miss. ]

And miss out on the chance to continue being roomies? No way.

[ it's a novelty for him, in all honesty. he grew up spending so much time alone that he isn't exactly rushing to go back to that lifestyle just yet.

ask him again later though, once he finds out that one of the lokis is the new mayor of sunset falls. ]

Right. [ got two months on stephen. ] Recent events, you're not aware of them. So, Thor launched an expedition to explore the Americas. Neither of us were going. Didn't expect Peter to want in, but... well, he's been wearing a leather jacket that his friend, Kon, gave him and I don't know about you but the kid's pretty much an open book. It isn't hard to connect two and two, especially since I know for a fact that Kon is going on that trip. Guess he thought that we wouldn't let him go on his own, so he took matters into his own hands.

[ he's kinda impressed. ]

[ Kon. There's a brief moment of hesitation as he tries his best to put a face to that name... ultimately doesn't succeed. It rings a bell, but not a very loud one. ]

The kid's fought in a space war, he can handle an expedition.

[ Apparently, Stephen's not hugely worried. But yikes, Peter. Swept off your feet and all the way to the Americas by a cool leather jacket? Ah, to be a teen.

Making it to the elevators, Stephen steps aside to leave Tony to hit the button for the appropriate floor. ]

And if he can't, then he'll have Thor and Barnes to watch over him.

[ stepping into the elevator, tony presses the button to his floor before he leans back against the adjacent wall, looking over at stephen with folded arms. ]

so, what are your thoughts on the guilds here? [ he sends the message via the neural implant, ironically the safest measure of communication now that they're in a different dimension. who woulda thunk? ]

[ Will it looks weird to anyone who happens to enter the elevator on the way of to see two grown men lounging on opposite walls staring at each other with vaguely serious expressions? Possibly. Is this where the rumours about their relationship to one another begin anew in a whole new world? Possibly!!

But here they go all the same. ]

I think they're well intended, but I've done my best to keep out of it. That's becoming more difficult as time goes on. Tensions are running high

[ they will never escape the throes of the rumor mill. it's their fate. ]

a natural trajectory given the state of affairs

anything of immediate concern though?

[ Hm, what to do here. Spill the current pressing government conspiracy before Tony's even been here a day?

Eh. He had even less time to acclimate in New Amsterdam, so what the hell? ]

There may or may not be a cult that hates us with members hidden in all major power structures

[ Ah yes, hated by the government. How many bells does that ring? If his expression reads a little like it might be a joke - well, it is an in joke, isn't it? For them. ]

It's a relatively new piece of intel, hasn't made it far yet.

[ it isn't like tony won't find out eventually, so may as well save him some time and trouble, right? ]

does this cult have a name? [ or some kind of insignia. cults do love their symbolic markings. ]

The Battlements of the Shining God.

[ If a text could have tone, this one would be saying so much. As it is, the look on his face probably does the job.

Cults sure do love their subtlety, huh? ]

well, i've heard worse

[ the elevator smooths to a stop at his floor, doors sliding open for them to exit. he steps out first, leading the way towards his assigned room. ]

do they pose a threat or is it still too early to tell?

[ Stephen exits the elevator to follow Tony's lead as he sends the following: ]

Definitely a threat. They've murdered before, consider those of us from other worlds enemy number one, and apparently they may be embedded in just about any position of authority going, excluding the guilds.

[ Everything's great here!! Welcome! ]

are any of the guilds taking action against them?

[ unlocking the door to his room, he waits for stephen to enter first before closing it shut behind them. ]

Help yourself. [ he waves toward the hotel-provided snacks and minibar in one corner as he plops down into one of the chairs. noticeably, the guild's card can be seen abandoned on top of the counter below the TV. ] And have a seat.

Thanks.

[ And Stephen doesn't consider himself a particularly paranoid person, but as he helps himself to some water from the minibar and moves back across the room to take a seat, it's still through the implant that he answers Tony's question. ]

Not to my knowledge, but I'm not aligned with either so I don't have any insight. We do have concerns that there might be some level of looking the other way on account of whatever relationship the guilds have with the government, but nothing concrete.

You really sure you want to give up the city?

[ The Diadem is a sweet deal, and Central City may not be New York but it's a damn sight closer to it than Sunset Falls, not that Tony knows what he's signed himself up for yet. ]

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