toblameforit | (no subject)

Cal forces himself to get back on track, to keep it light, and puts on a wry grin.

"Yeah, I pretty much gave up fighting that."

Obadiah doesn't say anything; he just shakes his head.

Which leaves Cal free to ignore the shit out of him.

(When he does eventually have to leave, he is getting right into the shower when he gets home.)

Tony gives Obie a look, but doesn't reproach him out loud. No need to start shit.

"Anyway," he says to Cal, "I wouldn't put it past him to have predicted this whole conversation, I mean I guess minus Obie 'cause he didn't know Obie was coming, and figured you'd keep me honest. Devious little shit."

"He's probably got Jarvis sending him updates right now," Cal theorizes.

He says it lightly but, like his earlier remark about leaving Stane out of this, it's not really a joke.

"Oh, he's totally sitting in his hotel room laughing at us," Tony agrees. "Bet he was cheering for you during the pillow fight that wasn't."

"Well, yeah," Cal says, like that much is obvious.

Though it might have been for different reasons than Tony thinks.

"Hi Sherry," he says brightly. "I'm sorry I called you a devious little shit. No wait, to you that's a compliment."

Cal laughs, but thinks that Tony doesn't even know the half of it. Not yet.

"Seriously though," Tony continues, "when he spies on me he at least tells me about it. So if he's watching this conversation I'm probably gonna get an email telling me how much I suck at Tetris."

Speaking of which, he hands Cal back his phone.

Cal leans over to take it back, saying,

"Now that you've said that, you will."

"Now that you've said that, I won't."

"And now that you've -"

Cal stops.

"This could go on forever."

"At this point he'll probably just flip a coin."

Cal can't resist.

"Not now he won't."

"I know he's not watching," Tony says triumphantly, "because he didn't just call you to tell you what a jerk you are."

Cal looks at the phone still in his hand.

"Saving it for later," he decides.

(Sherlock must be busy right now.)

"Or maybe he has better things to do," Obadiah suggests.

Cal can't stop himself from glancing up from the phone, a sharply evaluating look, trying to catch a hint of what that might mean from Stane's expression.

He realizes in the next second what he's doing and looks up at the ceiling.

". . . no hints, Jarvis?"

Shit. He's been doing so well, too.

"Sherlock is not currently accessing the video feed from this room," he says in his machine-perfect deadpan.

Tony laughs.

Cal sprawls back against the couch, trying to recover his cool.

(And maybe, a little, to distract Stane.)

"That was a pretty big hint," he observes.

(It works. It works quite well, actually.)

"Jarvis has a screwy sense of humour."

Cal locks his hands behind his head

(just to be sure)

saying,

"Yeah, I can't really see you programming a boring AI. It wouldn't fit in here."

(It's going to be a very long, very hot shower. Creating this particular distraction on his own terms still comes with its own very special level of gross.)