Bellagio, Thursday Morning

[tyler_gone]

Tyler hadn't been able to sleep the night before. It turned out Vegas was the kind of town where you could find a twelve-step meeting at 5 a.m. on a weekday, after all but the most desperate of the paparazzi had given up on Tony and his entourage doing anything interesting and crept home. And the most desperate ones weren't good enough at their jobs to notice Tyler when he crept out a side door, sweatshirt hood over his head and slumped posture combining to make him seem younger than he was.

He didn't do much at the Gambler's Anonymous meeting; he just sat, and listened, and gave a few hugs. One old woman cried on his shoulder. It was a support group, and those were always comforting to him, even for the wrong reasons.

Between that and a long workout, he was feeling fairly like himself as he sat down to a room service breakfast. It was just a version of himself that dressed in Armani.

[OOC: NFB but open to the guys with him.]

Comments

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

Tony was a bastard like that for making him wear it, really. "Having a good time?" He asked, eying Tyler's breakfast.

[tyler_gone]

"So far today, yeah," Tyler nodded, eyeing Tony back. "... was I supposed to order for you?"

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"Well, it is on my tab," Tony replied with a smirk. "If you ordered me breakfast, I think I would have to worry you were replaced by Banner."

[tyler_gone]

"I should shave someday and start being really polite just to freak you out."

Not funny, Tyler.

Grudgingly, he offered the man footing the bill a plate of toast.

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

Which was kind of him after the shaving bit.

"I'd have to shave and find a way to mutilate my hand to return the favor."

[tyler_gone]

Tyler snorted. "I didn't like that guy."

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"He had to have been better than meeting your lovely twin," Tony pointed out.

[tyler_gone]

"Bruce is a good guy," Tyler pointed out in indignation that was not entirely mock. Kidnapping, what kidnapping? "Whasisname, Henry or Harvey or whatever, he's just a pain in the ass."

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"You're not the one who played the part of the ball in that freakish form of tether ball," Tony pointed out.

[tyler_gone]

...

"Harvey bruised my ego," Tyler supplied, in a way that made it clear he knew that wasn't really comparable.

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"However did you survive?"

[tyler_gone]

"Sometimes, Tony, you just have to bear up," Tyler said. "I don't like to talk about my pain."

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"The strong silent type," Tony added. "Which is good because I wouldn't want to talk about it."

[tyler_gone]

Tyler looked wounded. "I thought part of the whole relationship thing was that you had to listen to me whining about my childhood pain or ingrown toenail or whatthefuckever."

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

Tony just looked horrified for a moment. "You're not going to try, right?"

[tyler_gone]

"Well the last time I got an ingrown toenail the pus got kind of green -- and oh, god, I'm horrified you would even think I would do that."

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"You could surprise me," Tony replied with a casual wave of his hand. "It wouldn't be the first time."

[tyler_gone]

Tyler just laughed at that and gestured to the toast again. "Eat something. Did you sleep?"

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

With a put upon sigh, Tony took the toast. Pepper did that one better. "More than you did."

[tyler_gone]

Tyler wasn't auditioning for Pepper's gig, anyhow.

"That's not saying a lot."

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"It's enough." Hey, he was a grown man, He could sleep however much he wanted!

...please don't tell Pepper.

[tyler_gone]

"You can't actually die from not sleeping, anyhow." And Tyler'd been experimenting on that one long enough to know for sure.

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"Pot, pleasure to meet you. Have you looked in a mirror recently?"

[tyler_gone]

"I know. Did the circles under my eyes get bad again?"

He wasn't going to talk about not sleeping. That was getting into ingrown toenail territory.

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"You've looked better," Tony replied dryly. Because he to wasn't about to go into that whole... thing.

[tyler_gone]

"Even with the new duds?" Tyler asked archly, before dropping it. "We should go play poker later."

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

Which was really just good for them both there. "Maybe a trip the tables wouldn't hurt tomorrow," Tony replied.