specification | Heart In a Knot

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Heart In a Knot - PREQUEL for Stark

As far as Arthur saw it, being home for two weeks was a week too long. He had caught up with the friends and family members he cared to see and catch up with. He ran. He slept. But now, that itch was creeping up again - wanting to get out and do something, travel somewhere.

It was with a grain of hope that Arthur picked up the phone when Mal called. He hoped she would have a job or have heard something. Besides, it was wonderful talking to her, as always. "Good evening, Mal," he smiled, looking in the fridge for something before taking out a bottle of water.

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"Oh how often he's refered to that way," she said with a laugh. "That. The. Oh him," she said. "Or as my darling husband likes to refer to him: That bastard's on teevee again," she said, chuckling.

"He's a multibillionaire with a lot of enemies. Currently arguing with the government about his suit and fighting to keep things on his level. He's worried that the government, or others, looking to steal the technology for the acr reactor might use dream share to get the information so he asked me to reccomend someone to help him protect against that."

Arthur chuckled softly. "He does seem to be on TV quite a bit," he mused. It didn't surprise him nearly as much as he thought it would that Mal knew Iron Man. Course she knew Iron Man.

"Makes sense," he said. "So you recommended me? I'm surprised you didn't take that up," he teased her. "When does he want it?"

He was already making plans, figuring out how soon he could be out there to start.

"He is an attention whore of the highest calibre," she said, still a bit of a chuckle in her voice and definitely amused. Both for him and in general.

"I'm not allowed to take that up. Dominick isn't fond of my past liason with a man like Tony," she said, a hint of a pout in her words. "He is up for this as soon as possible, so I told him your schedule would be the determining factor. He was fine with that, so long as it was sooner than later."

Arthur chuckled and relaxed into the cushions of the couch. "I see - well you did say he was a womanizer," he teased. Still, he knew Mal loved Dom more than anything else and knew the extractor didn't have anything to worry about.

"I can be there by the end of the week." That was a few days away and could start by the beginning of the next week. "Then I can start when it works for him," he said. He could see, in hindsight, why a man of Tony's influence, power and status in the country would need something like militarization. It wouldn't do for others to try and put Iron Man under and steal what information they could get their hands on. As it was rumored, Tony had a lot of valuable information.

"I can give you his number and you can call and arrange things with him," she offered. "Just so that I do not upset Dominick more than I have to." Which likely meant he hadn't known about the recent contact and she was trying to keep it to a minimum to stop things from becoming ugly.

"I appreciate you handling this, Arthur. There are few men I would trust this job to."

"I wouldn't want that to happen," he said and leaned over for a pad of paper and a pen. "What's his number," he asked once he had that in his hands.

Arthur smiled. "It's no problem, Mal. Needed something challenging to work on - what better than militarizing Iron Man?"

"That's my darling, Arthur," she purred. "I knew I could count on you." She gave him the number, repeating it twice for him.

"It does sound amazing. Shame you can't ever use it on your resume," she teased, as if they had one.

On the second time around, he made sure he had written down the correct number before setting the pad aside and chuckled. "Shame but I know I'm good at what I do," he teased. "Thanks, Mal. I'll give you a call when I get in and settled, alright?" He figured he'd stay at a hotel - it might make things a little weird at the Cobb's if he was working with Mal's ex -- 'friend'. "We'll all have to get together for dinner."

"You're not good at what you do," she corrected. "You are amazing, Arthr. Don't you let anyone tell you otherwise."

She smiled. "Well, I might note how close Malibu is to here, so you had better visit and soon."

She paused. "All? Wicked thing. Unless you don't mean Anthony."

"Then in that case, I will visit soon," he grinned. He missed them, missed her. She was really something special.

"No, I don't mean Anthony," he said with a laugh. "I just mean, you, Dom, Pippa, James and myself." He wasn't going to speak for the billionaire just yet, he didn't know the man.

"I'll give him a call and sort something out."

"Good. I can't wait to see you," she admitted, chuckling. "We shall plan something for us all after your work is done then."

"I can't wait to see you either," he said with a smile. "Give everyone my love, and I'll see you soon."

He hung up soon after and looked at the number sitting on the coffee table. He had heard stories of course - gossip about the man behind the Iron Man suit but he was sure nothing would prepare him for the real thing. Still, it was better to get started than to wait. He dialed the phone number he had been given and held the phone up to his ear as it rang.

It took three rings before someone answered. A male, almost distracted voice came through.

"You've reached Tony Stark. If you've gotten this message in error, go away. If you're the government, go away. If you're ... what's her name, go away. If this is Pepper, I'll be there in ten minutes, wherever there is," he said, speaking as if he was the answering machine.

"Everyone else leave a message after the beep." He waited two seconds. "Is someone actually still there?"

Arthur was silent for a minute, severely torn as to whether or not he should go with it. In the end, this was a job and that was that. "None of those options apply to me, Mr. Stark. I was asked to complete a job with you (read: on you) by a Mallorie Cobb."

Despite himself, he could feel a smile tug on his lips. That had been unusual.

Tony was quiet a long moment, considering that. "She told me you would be calling. Of course, she told me to stop calling Ms Miles too and I refuse. Might be why she foisted me off on you and didn't take the job herself. Dom can't stand me," he said cheerfully, settling back on his stool in the lab.

"She tells me you're the best at this."

Despite himself, Arthur found himself chuckling. "I'd say it had more to do with Dom above all else," he said and stood from the couch to walk over to the balcony window. "I am the best at what I do, I can assure you. I can be in town by the end of the week, Mr. Stark. When would work for you to meet and get started?"

He looked over the New York City skyline as he awaited for the answer.

"Yes, he's horribly possessive. I have utter respect for Mallorie." At least as much so if not more that he had for a handful of women in his life. By handful, of course, meaning one. Pepper.

"I have a small get together on Friday night. Why don't you attend."

Arthur didn't mention that Mal had told him about their past 'friendship' but he could see why the two had had their fling. His eyebrows rose at the invitation, not having expected that.

The traditional phrasing of 'small get togethers' usually included close friends, spouses etc. They didn't exactly include men you don't know who will be delving into your subconscious. Besides, he was a professional. "In that case, Mr. Stark - let's start on Monday."

"Don't do that. One, it's Tony, not Mr Stark. Two, you would abandon me to another of these damn tribute dinners when I could entirely beg off because you showed up and I have to work," he asked, treating it as if this was a long standing thing between them.

Despite himself, Arthur chuckled. "When you put it that way," he said, his tone dry. "You act as though it's horrible to go to one." Though, he could imagine they were horribly boring.

"Several thousand people expecting me to be social and smile sweet and stay sober and then make a speech about how it's them and not me that's wonderful," he said with a snort. "It's horrid."

"Small little gathering, he said," Arthur muttered dryly but couldn't keep the smile from his lips. "Ah, yes - I can imagine how dull it would be to not talk about yourself for an evening." Still, he hadn't exactly said no or yes to attend this gathering with Tony. "Don't you have someone to attend these evenings with already?"

"Yes well, likely it's only about a few hundred. Does that make it better," he asked, honestly not even sure because he wasn't sure which one this was. "See, I knew you'd understand."

He was quiet a minute and then grinned. "Asking to be my date?"

Arthur narrowed his eyes at the window in front of him. "I see what you did there and of course not, Mr. Stark." It hadn't even crossed his mind until now that that's what it had come across as. "You did the inviting first, in any case."

He was not flirting with Tony Stark.

He shook his head and walked away from the window. "We'll start on Monday if that works for you," he said, returning back to his normal train of thought before whatever not-date event Tony had planned for Friday night.

"Of course I did. I have to meet the man that inspires that sort of devotion from Mallorie," he admitted.

"So you won't be attending Friday, even without work?"

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