[Tony takes a moment before responding, letting what John said settle in his mind. He's being more careful now, taking in the words and actually listening instead of reacting on instinct alone. He does think the story about Sherlock seems invasive, but John doesn't sound angry. It must just be that level of trust between them. That's something Tony has a lot of trouble with.]
I had a friend that I grew up with. We'd fight a lot, but I always thought we were pretty close--We had a lot in common, both of us came from the same background and went to school together, so we understood each other a bit better than others.
A little while ago, I met him again. When he showed up, every mistake I'd ever made seemed to surface out of nowhere. Issues with my health, poor life choices that, well, I only had myself to blame for those, and a stack of other things that weren't even true. Every dirty secret that might drag Iron Man under was spread around to every journalist and smartass kid with a blog and a grudge against Tony Stark.
You were talking around us and I knew you were doing it. But I should have just said that. I guess I was worried about another run through the mud with people who didn't even know me.
no subject
[Tony takes a moment before responding, letting what John said settle in his mind. He's being more careful now, taking in the words and actually listening instead of reacting on instinct alone. He does think the story about Sherlock seems invasive, but John doesn't sound angry. It must just be that level of trust between them. That's something Tony has a lot of trouble with.]
I had a friend that I grew up with. We'd fight a lot, but I always thought we were pretty close--We had a lot in common, both of us came from the same background and went to school together, so we understood each other a bit better than others.
A little while ago, I met him again. When he showed up, every mistake I'd ever made seemed to surface out of nowhere. Issues with my health, poor life choices that, well, I only had myself to blame for those, and a stack of other things that weren't even true. Every dirty secret that might drag Iron Man under was spread around to every journalist and smartass kid with a blog and a grudge against Tony Stark.
You were talking around us and I knew you were doing it. But I should have just said that. I guess I was worried about another run through the mud with people who didn't even know me.