Stark

This week the office looked much the same as it had last week. Stark still found the idea of an office rather odd, but he was beginning to get used to it. After spending a few minutes tending to his tiny plant (which was doing quite well, thank you) he sat down at his desk.

Once again there was a small plate of tiny cupcakes on the desk for sharing. There was also a pile of cookbooks on one corner of the desk and after some careful consideration Stark picked up the top one and started flipping through it. Research was important. Really. And he liked the pictures.

[Post and door are open. My availability is zero until 5-ish EDT, as per usual.]

Stark was not time-displaced. Not this weekend anyway. This was probably a good thing. He'd jumped around in time before and it had ended, quite literally, in tears. Also in death and for a brief period a planet being utterly destroyed. The planet, at least, had gotten better. But that wasn't really relevant right now.

What was relevant was that Stark had found that cupcake TV program that Anders had mentioned and was now sitting on the edge of the bed watching it. Well, staring at it in horrified fascination might be a better term.

"FISH!?" Stark shook his head. "What sort of twisted person puts fish into a cupcake? That is terrible. Absolutely terrible."

Yes. Yes, he was in fact talking to the cupcake in his hand. Look, nobody ever accused him of being sane. Well, maybe they had. But really he'd only ever been accused of being less mad than he appeared.

"I'm not even sure what wasabi is" he continued, frowning at the nice normal chocolate cupcake he was holding, "but it does not sound like it belongs in a cupcake. Especially with fish. This is horrible. I have to tell Anders. I hope his cupcake truck doesn't do things like that. That was awful. Awful awful awful. Fish. In a cupcake!"

But he wasn't changing the channel. He couldn't seem to look away.


[Yes, he's watching Cupcake Wars and the tuna wasabi cupcake was REAL. Can be open. This just had to be done.]

There had been cupcakes and talking. Mostly talking. Zhaan had said she wanted to know what had happened with him and so Stark had tried to tell her all of it. And there was a lot to tell. And there was so much to say that wasn't just retelling what had happened since last he saw Zhaan. So much to do. More than could possibly have fit into the all-too-short time she was here.

"Please," he said softly, and not for the first time. "Please don't leave me alone again. There must be a way..." He said it even though he knew there was no way. He knew that this time had already been a gift. Time to see and hear and touch and simply be with his Zhaan.


[Up late because I'm in San Diego and had no downtime at all today. Also for epic amounts of SP]