Story: "Happy Hour" Part 5
Jan. 15th, 2014 02:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis story belongs to the series Love Is For Children which includes "Love Is for Children," "Eggshells," "Dolls and Guys," "Turnabout Is Fair Play," and "Touching Moments," "Splash," "Coming Around," "Birthday Girl," "No Winter Lasts Forever," "Hide and Seek," and "Kernel Error."
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Happy Hogan, Tony Stark, JARVIS.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Workplace violence, cross-class tension, problem drinking, false friends, misunderstandings, hangover, Happy!whump, Tony!whump.
Summary: Tony rescues Happy from an abusive employer. Happy rescues Tony from himself. But of course it's never really that simple ...
Notes: Angst. Hurt/Comfort. Fear of loss. Friendship. Confusion. Caregiving. Artificial intelligence. Communication. Feels. Tony Stark Has a Heart.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. Skip to Part 5, Part 8, Part 9.
"Happy Hour" Part 5
"Bed," Mr. Stark said with a vague wave that might have been intended as direction but was entirely unhelpful.
"This way, sir," said the voice, and hall lighting turned on by itself.
Happy took a tentative step in that direction, and another light turned on farther down the hall. All right, fine, that was a little weird but he could work with it. Happy followed the lights to a door that opened on a luxurious bedroom. He lowered Mr. Stark onto the bed, arranging him on his side. The fancy clothes bunched around his body. That didn't look very comfortable. Happy frowned.
No doubt the man would throw a fit if he woke up without his clothes. Happy compromised by unbuttoning the cuffs and collar of the costly tailored shirt, and after a moment's hesitation, the trousers as well. Then he pulled off the shoes and set them beside the bed.
"He's going to want aspirin in the morning," Happy muttered, still uncomfortably stuck between 'friend' and 'servant' modes.
The room light dimmed, leaving a bright crack of light showing beneath another door. Curious, Happy opened the door and found the bathroom. From there it was easy to locate the bottle of aspirin, then fill one of the crystal glasses and pop the matching cover on it. He left those on the nightstand beside the bed.
Then Happy noticed the bathroom light was still on. He went to turn it off, only to have a spotlight hit the louvered door of the linen closet. Obligingly he opened that door too -- and smiled when he saw the spare blankets. Happy picked one up and draped it over Mr. Stark.
A touch on his face startled him. "What --?"
"Ashhole," Mr. Stark said, tracing the bruise at the corner of Happy's mouth. The touch was overly familiar, but it felt concerned rather than lascivious. Happy had forgotten about getting hit earlier. "Doesh'n desherve you."
"As you say, sir," Happy said. Rich people tended to stay amiable as long as you agreed with whatever they said.
"Shtay," Mr. Stark said. He let his hand drop, but the brown eyes gleamed as they watched for Happy's reaction. "Hire you inna morning."
Happy felt a pang of temptation. He knew better than to put any faith in drunken promises, though. "I need to return the car," he said gently as he pulled away.
Mr. Stark rolled over then, turning his back on Happy. The chauffeur heaved a sigh of relief at this clear dismissal. He let himself out of the house, closing all the doors carefully behind him even though he couldn't lock any of them. Then he drove the limousine back to its parking spot.
Happy went home, of course. He wasn't stupid. He knew that Mr. Stark couldn't possibly have offered him a job for real. Things like that just didn't happen, even if Mr. Stark had rescued him from an abusive employer, even if Happy had later driven him home and more-or-less tucked him into bed. The man needed someone to make sure he got home safely.
This wasn't a fairy tale. Happy knew better. Really he did.
* * *
Notes:
Happy knows how to anticipate and treat a hangover. Rest, water, and painkillers top the recommended care list. Also it's inadvisable to leave a drunken person alone, but Happy already feels self-conscious about how far he's stepped outside the formal boundaries of their relationship at this stage. Having heard JARVIS, Happy thinks there's another servant somewhere nearby. JARVIS could call an ambulance if necessary, but he doesn't have hands of his own; in cases like that this, it can be a nerve-wracking limitation.
JARVIS uses light to point things out, the way a human would use their hands. Tony has thoughtfully designed the space to accommodate that, mindful of the building as a body for JARVIS. Articulated devices include fully mobile spotlights and partially mobile recessed lights that JARVIS can control. Happy doesn't really understand what's going on with the lighting in the mansion.
Alcohol impairs thought and lowers inhibitions, so sometimes drunken people say things they don't mean, or mean but would not normally say aloud. This creates confusion over whether or not people really mean what they say while drunk. Generally speaking, don't trust drunken promises, but drunken revelations are worth checking further. Happy is right to be dubious in case it's the bottle talking.
[To be continued in Part 6 ...]
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Happy Hogan, Tony Stark, JARVIS.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Workplace violence, cross-class tension, problem drinking, false friends, misunderstandings, hangover, Happy!whump, Tony!whump.
Summary: Tony rescues Happy from an abusive employer. Happy rescues Tony from himself. But of course it's never really that simple ...
Notes: Angst. Hurt/Comfort. Fear of loss. Friendship. Confusion. Caregiving. Artificial intelligence. Communication. Feels. Tony Stark Has a Heart.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. Skip to Part 5, Part 8, Part 9.
"Happy Hour" Part 5
"Bed," Mr. Stark said with a vague wave that might have been intended as direction but was entirely unhelpful.
"This way, sir," said the voice, and hall lighting turned on by itself.
Happy took a tentative step in that direction, and another light turned on farther down the hall. All right, fine, that was a little weird but he could work with it. Happy followed the lights to a door that opened on a luxurious bedroom. He lowered Mr. Stark onto the bed, arranging him on his side. The fancy clothes bunched around his body. That didn't look very comfortable. Happy frowned.
No doubt the man would throw a fit if he woke up without his clothes. Happy compromised by unbuttoning the cuffs and collar of the costly tailored shirt, and after a moment's hesitation, the trousers as well. Then he pulled off the shoes and set them beside the bed.
"He's going to want aspirin in the morning," Happy muttered, still uncomfortably stuck between 'friend' and 'servant' modes.
The room light dimmed, leaving a bright crack of light showing beneath another door. Curious, Happy opened the door and found the bathroom. From there it was easy to locate the bottle of aspirin, then fill one of the crystal glasses and pop the matching cover on it. He left those on the nightstand beside the bed.
Then Happy noticed the bathroom light was still on. He went to turn it off, only to have a spotlight hit the louvered door of the linen closet. Obligingly he opened that door too -- and smiled when he saw the spare blankets. Happy picked one up and draped it over Mr. Stark.
A touch on his face startled him. "What --?"
"Ashhole," Mr. Stark said, tracing the bruise at the corner of Happy's mouth. The touch was overly familiar, but it felt concerned rather than lascivious. Happy had forgotten about getting hit earlier. "Doesh'n desherve you."
"As you say, sir," Happy said. Rich people tended to stay amiable as long as you agreed with whatever they said.
"Shtay," Mr. Stark said. He let his hand drop, but the brown eyes gleamed as they watched for Happy's reaction. "Hire you inna morning."
Happy felt a pang of temptation. He knew better than to put any faith in drunken promises, though. "I need to return the car," he said gently as he pulled away.
Mr. Stark rolled over then, turning his back on Happy. The chauffeur heaved a sigh of relief at this clear dismissal. He let himself out of the house, closing all the doors carefully behind him even though he couldn't lock any of them. Then he drove the limousine back to its parking spot.
Happy went home, of course. He wasn't stupid. He knew that Mr. Stark couldn't possibly have offered him a job for real. Things like that just didn't happen, even if Mr. Stark had rescued him from an abusive employer, even if Happy had later driven him home and more-or-less tucked him into bed. The man needed someone to make sure he got home safely.
This wasn't a fairy tale. Happy knew better. Really he did.
* * *
Notes:
Happy knows how to anticipate and treat a hangover. Rest, water, and painkillers top the recommended care list. Also it's inadvisable to leave a drunken person alone, but Happy already feels self-conscious about how far he's stepped outside the formal boundaries of their relationship at this stage. Having heard JARVIS, Happy thinks there's another servant somewhere nearby. JARVIS could call an ambulance if necessary, but he doesn't have hands of his own; in cases like that this, it can be a nerve-wracking limitation.
JARVIS uses light to point things out, the way a human would use their hands. Tony has thoughtfully designed the space to accommodate that, mindful of the building as a body for JARVIS. Articulated devices include fully mobile spotlights and partially mobile recessed lights that JARVIS can control. Happy doesn't really understand what's going on with the lighting in the mansion.
Alcohol impairs thought and lowers inhibitions, so sometimes drunken people say things they don't mean, or mean but would not normally say aloud. This creates confusion over whether or not people really mean what they say while drunk. Generally speaking, don't trust drunken promises, but drunken revelations are worth checking further. Happy is right to be dubious in case it's the bottle talking.
[To be continued in Part 6 ...]
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Date: 2014-01-16 07:58 pm (UTC)Yes...
Date: 2014-01-17 07:38 am (UTC)