riverview | video; @star.lord

[ INT. Shared Housing, Floor 13, Room 4 – Very Late Night.

We open on a shot of the living space in one of the many shared housing units. It's dark in the messy room, with a couple of red jackets tossed onto the backs of chairs. Nearby, soft snores are audible.

In frame is a small, wooden creature, his giant eyes squinting with concentration as he stares at the screen. An old, beat-up mp3 player and a Sony Walkman sit beside him on the coffee table. The little creature mumbles a tiny, irritated— ]

I am Groot?

[ —in the same tone of voice someone else might use to ask, “How the hell do you work this thing?” He pokes at the screen fruitlessly for a while, but soon enough, his eyes light up as he shoves his hand forward one last time.

Suddenly, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” by the illustrious AC/DC shrieks over stereo speakers.

DONE. DIRT. CHEAP.

Sorry about your beauty sleep, Floor 13. And probably Floors 12 and 14.

The sapling yelps, scrambling and panicking to figure out how to stop this crazy thing, just as a sleep-tousled Star-Lord stumbles into frame, flicking on a light. Barely audible over the music, ]

Groot, what are you—?

[ Busted.

Peter picks up the device, sees that it’s recording, and he grimaces. ]

Oh, son of a—

[ Which is when the feed and the music both cut out. ]

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[ Flatly, ] What a tragic burden. How ever could you possibly cope?

I ask myself that every day.

[It's solemn and dramatic, but Tony's also eyeing him.]

Can't get back to sleep?

Cut me some slack. I just got jolted out of a dead sleep by Bon Scott. I’m still riding the adrenaline rush.

[ It’s 100% a lie, but it’s a feasible one, right? And before the Guardians, Peter had made a career out of lying.

Truth is, he’s got a lot on his mind, right now, and he’s pretty sure Gamora is coming down with that weird Riverview-flu (River-flu?), but she refuses to admit it, and he’s worried. It’s all his childhood nightmares kicking down the door into his adult life. ]

Don’t let me keep you if I’m distraction you from your all your geniusing.

[Tony flicks him a look that's borderline knowing, but gives an offhand shrug rather than comment.]

You're good. I can multitask.

[ He hesitates for a second, but—

Yeah. He appreciates the offer. And he could use the distraction. ]

Are you working on something top secret? Or can I ask what it is?

No real secret. Building a computer for someone.

[Well. Essentially a computer, anyway. He holds up the motherboard he's been working with, just in case Peter is actually curious.]

It's pretty easy work.

[ He quirks up an eyebrow – examining the motherboard by the small screen. A part of him wants to ask, "Your friend knows they sell those around here, right?" but— ]

I'm guessin' there's more to it than just a computer.

[Tony flashes a quick grin at him.]

Might be a little souped up. I admit to nothing.

Uh huh.

[ Flatly, though there's a smile curling the corner of his mouth. ]

What, is it gonna be able to slice and dice? Cut julienne fries?

Yeah, I've learned better than to give computers sharp objects.

[Is that Dum-E wandering through the background behind him?]

Nah. Just runs better than most.

[ Yeah, he sees the robot drifting past, and Peter quirks an eyebrow. ]

Are you speaking from personal experience?

[ And pointedly nods past Stark to Dum-E. ]

Have you been running a robot knife-fighting ring on the side?

Nah. That's just the roombas.

[He says it with such a blandly straight face, too.]

There's a lot of stuff in my lab. Sometimes he decides to pick it up.

[ Predictably, Peter has no idea what a Roomba is. The joke, sadly, is lost on him. ]

You normally leave knives lying around?

[ There’s probably not nearly as much judgment in his voice as there should be.

Look, Peter lived with Drax the Destroyer, a known collector of knives. Standing in the common area of the Milano during a bit of turbulence was as likely to result in a limb being blown off, courtesy of one of Rocket’s half-made explosives, or in evisceration. ]

Me? No.

[Housemates, possibly.]

But it's an engineering lab, I have more than enough tools that you don't want to end up on the wrong end of, if you can help it.

So, screwdrivers, welding torches, live power sources.

[ Yeah. He’s been around Rocket enough to get that. ]

Maybe you should consider childproofing the place.

Kind of defeats the point, considering he's supposed to be helping.

[Doesn't do a great job of it, but he does try.]

[ A weighty pause. Then, ]

Well. I guess you can still give points for effort.

I usually do.

[There's a certain fondly exasperated tone that Tony gets that seems to be specifically for Dum-E.]

Anyway. No unfixable damage yet.

[ He clicks his tongue. ]

That seems like tempting fate, man.

You'd better go knock on wood before something explodes in there.

Hah. Nothing explodes that I don't mean to explode.

[Usually.]

[ Oof. You really had to put it like that, didn't you Tony?

Peter likes to say he's not a superstitious guy, but that's a total lie. The Ravagers put a lot of stock into that stuff, and Peter couldn't help but pick up a little of that, too.

Which is why he makes sure he stare straight down the barrel of the camera, expression flat and completely unimpressed, as he uses a knuckle to rap on the surface of the wooden coffee table.

If Stark isn't going to do it, apparently Peter will do it for him. ]

Edited 2018-06-12 06:49 (UTC)

[Tony eyes him back as he does it, then just lets out an amused snort.]

You sure that's real wood?

I mean, I’d knock on Groot, but he’s still in trouble.

[ And speaking of, the kid silently mimics Peter with an overblown expression of derision.

Kids, man. ]

[Tony can't help but cough out a laugh as he spots it, though he tries to school his expression back into some semblance of innocence. Doesn't really work, but he's trying.]

Yeah, I can see that.

[ He looks a little confused by Stark’s laughter and that poor attempt at hiding it, but a quick glance at Groot, who’s still sulking, doesn’t yield much. ]

... Right.

[ And he drags the word out with obvious suspicion. ]

I’m just saying, you're definitely gonna jinx yourself with that.

It's like saying, “What’s the worst that could happen?” or “At least it’s not raining.”

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buildsomething - 2018-06-14 19:40 (UTC) - Expand