The Edge of the Island | Sunday Evening

[dollpocalypse]

The world hadn't ended. The world was okay and there were people hugging and crying, but the lights were still off in the room across the hall from his, which meant that Topher had only one place to check.

He didn't run, though it was a near thing, and that was mainly because his legs still felt a little shaky after having flown around a freaking mountaintop on a wingless dragon. So he walked, his heart pounding erratically with worry and hope. A nervous habit kicked in, and as he stepped into view of the very tip of the island, Topher brought one knuckle up into his mouth to chew on uncertainly.

Please let him be there, please let him be there...

[[For guess who.]]

Comments

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"---didn't I have a phone here?" Tony asked, frowning as he looked around on the ground for it. It was important, damn it. For calling people to let them know he wasn't, you know, dead.

[dollpocalypse]

HELLO, TONY. HAVE A GLOMP-HUG.

"You exist!"

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"I exist," Tony confirmed, hands awkwardly in the air for a moment before he gave into the hug. "What happened?"

[dollpocalypse]

Topher clung tightly.

"The world almost ended and we all had to live in the library and we played D&D and Karla hit me three times and you didn't exist and neither did Ben or Warren and I got to fly on a dragon today and I'm sorry about your lab!"

He had... maybe scuffed the wall.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Let him try to follow all of that for a moment. "...what did you do to my lab?" seemed to be the most important part.

[dollpocalypse]

"I... maybe... punched the wall."

It was scuffed, Topher. Not even dented.

Topher moved as if to end the hug, then changed his mind and squeezed Tony again. Like a weirdo.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Tony frowned again, pulling back to give him a concerned look. "Are you okay?"

No, he didn't think Topher could do too much to damage anything. Because he cared about tech too much to touch those parts.

[dollpocalypse]

"Yeah!" Topher agreed hastily. "Uh. For sure. Yes. Totally."

Well, you know. Now he was.

Despite the evidence of having been punched the night before, and obvious bags under his eyes indicating that he hadn't slept in a while.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Feel the force of Tony's concern, Topher. Tony 'I'll sleep when I'm dead' Stark. He was perfectly fine pushing himself to the passing out on the keyboard point, but not others, after all.

"How long was I--gone?"

[dollpocalypse]

"91 hours," Topher reported, way too quickly.

"I mean. Um, something like that. I don't really remember..."

LIAR.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Tony shook his head, smiling slightly. "Everyone else back?"

Was Rhodey? Home?

[dollpocalypse]

"I think I saw Ben," Topher said. "He, um, also..." Disappeared. Yes. "And you got a text from Rhodey," he added, handing over Tony's phone.

If it had been taken apart and put back together by a pair of nervous hands that had been itching for something technological to do in a certain toadstool colony, it didn't show.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Tony beamed at him, taking the phone back and hugging it close. Like a nerd. A nerd who loved his tech far too much.

Then bumped Topher's shoulder with his own as he responded to Rhodey. "You did good, Brink."

[dollpocalypse]

Topher smiled, his eyes flicking down.

"Thanks."

IT WAS ALL FOR YOU, TONY. ALL OF IT.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

HEY, IF IT INSPIRED TOPHER TO BE A GOOD PERSON, IT WAS WORTH IT.

"So, what did you do to get hit so many times by Karla?" he asked slowly. He knew she clearly wasn't in her right mind with the whole Warren thing.

[dollpocalypse]

"Well, we were playing D&D," Topher began, starting to turn back in the direction of the dorms, if Tony would follow. "And it got sort of insane. I mean, seriously, you should've been there. It was nuts."

HE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THERE. IT WAS TOO NUTS FOR A DELICATE FLOWER LIKE TONY.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Of course. While texting Rhodey, though. "I missed out on D&D?"

Why yes, he sounded a little disappointed. HE COULD HAVE ROCKED AS A WARRIOR.

[dollpocalypse]

"Yeah, but it was weird," Topher said, kicking a rock out of the way to keep distracted!Tony from tripping on it. BECAUSE HE CARED. "Like, Pajama Guy played, and so did all these girls, and that blue guy, except when I called him Blue he got all grouchy and Karla punched me and then she and Billy, like, complained at me..."

This explanation could go on a while. Or until he was interrupted.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Tony frowned at the punching. Because Topher really needed to stop getting hit by girls. "Why did they complain?"

He was multitasking!

[dollpocalypse]

"Apparently it's rude to call people Blue?" HE DIDN'T GET IT EITHER.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"Try not to make comments about people based on their color next time," Tony advised. "You wouldn't call Rhodey 'Brown' would you?"

THE ANSWER HERE IS NO, TOPHER. JUST AS AN FYI.

[dollpocalypse]

"Of course not!" THAT WAS A WHOLE DIFFERENT THING, TONY. "But I didn't remember his name and he is blue and people usually aren't and Billy already gave me the speech, okay?"

He looked uncertain. Tony hadn't existed for like ninety-one hours and now he did and Topher really didn't want Tony to be pissed off at him...

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Tony shot him a look out of the corner of his eye to confirm this was indeed the case. "Okay, as long as you know not to do it again. Apparently there are people like that, or will be, where I'm from too."

And he'd like to say it wouldn't be as bad as Bobby and Warren's worlds, but... he knew better.

[dollpocalypse]

Topher nodded. "Yeah, Billy said you guys all come from around the same place," he recalled. Moving right along! "Anyway, that was one of the times Karla punched me. Then there was also this whole other thing when she was being a jerk and I was like, 'well, one time I slept on Warren,' and she hit me."

OBVIOUSLY KARLA WAS WELL-ADJUSTED AND HAD TOTALLY COME TO TERMS WITH THEIR BREAKUP, RIGHT?

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Tony stopped texting enough to facepalm. "Don't tell girls you slept with their boyfriends. Ex-boyfriends. Whatever."