Leon Stark

peter gives a quick smile and takes a couple of chips from the bag, crunching thoughtfully.  “ well, i have a couple others, so i don’t actually need it functioning again.  it’d probably be easier for me to make a new one than repair that one.  so if you can get the footage, i’d be really thrilled. ”

winnie wasn’t stupid – she was far from it, actually, but she was wildly uneducated when it came to boys and… other things. she was naive with it all, having not bothered with anything related to that sort of thing for basically her whole life. really, in all honesty, winnie was sure she’d never been looked at in any way other than something congenial and polite, but she wouldn’t know what a compliment looked like if it bit her on the nose – meaning, basically, that when leon spoke, she had no idea what he was getting at.

“what? leon, you’re not abrasi– oh. are you–?” she blinked, her brain trying to catch up with his joke. it didn’t take much for her to blush, either, and as a result, she was bright red. “leon!” winnie gasped, staring up at him. “don’t be– don’t– i’m–!” huffing, she tried to move on, without drawing attention to her flushed cheeks. “indian is– indian is fine. good, even. let’s have that. i’m glad you’re also eating, because as much as you think i don’t eat, you’re just as bad as i am. and you know it!”

leon knows exactly how innocent winnie is. it’s not that she’s stupid - of course not, he’s not stupid enough to think that. she’s smarter than most people they know, actually. but there’s still a sense of naivety, childish innocence when it comes to jokes of this.. flavour. which is why he likes throwing them in from time to time, to throw her for a loop. maybe it’s a little mean but he can’t help but chuckle at the sight of her floundering and blushing this way. and - sure, okay, it’s kind of cute too.

it never really bothered winnie that she was more patient than leon – there was never a time where she felt like he was rushing her. her patience, she hoped, maybe allowed him to think things through a little more – and, admittedly, his extroversion and confidence was a little contagious. at least, mostly. but, really, what did bother her was the idea of her pulling him away from things he loved doing, much like lab work. rather than harping on about it for too long, winnie just sighed softly, gave him a half apologetic look, and carried on.

“i… don’t mind, really?” winnie was pretty good when it came to food. she’d never been a picky eater, which sort of made things easier and harder when it came to her making the decisions. “i’m a little bit in the mood for something spicy? or, oh, that– that cafe that has that lemon tart. something abrasive, apparently.” following after him, the redhead shrugged. “have you had lunch? i don’t want to go somewhere and get a meal and you just get a small little… thing. you know? what would you prefer?”

it never really bothered him, to do this. to take time away from the lab to keep an eye on winnie. not just because they basically grew up together, or because their families were close. despite how different they are, leon enjoys her company. he likes helping her, keeping an eye on her, and.. maybe he doesn’t let it out all that often, but he does at least feel like he can be a little more himself around her. which is always nice to have. he doesn’t mind taking some time out of the lab for that.

Lexi eyed the dog, a smile curving her lips.  “Anyone who steals from a dog deserves to deal with him being upset,” she decided.  Then she held out the device.  “Oh, it’s not mine.”  She wouldn’t ever treat her tech like that.  “I found it outside, and all things being considered, I figured it wouldn’t be safe to just leave it there.”  Not that she hadn’t been tempted to take it back to her place to tinker with it on her own, but with three computers at various stages, she just didn’t have room.  “Who knows what someone might accidentally do with it?”

wrinkling her nose as his hand came up to her face, winnie giggled softly. she hadn’t realised – how long had that paint been there? oh, well. slipping on her jacket and calling out goodbye to the other kindergarten teacher, winnie turned back to leon and blushed. “sorry – i just didn’t want to keep you waiting! and then i did. which– yeah. sorry. sorry for… being sorry? i guess?”

eyes widening, both scandalised and delighted by his joke, winnie gave winnie a little nudge. that mother was fine, just… a lot. when it came to winnie herself, however, leon knew her too well, and what’s more than that, she was a bad liar. she couldn’t even tell him she had eaten, not to worry, it’s all fine, but it was a thing he’d see right through. brushing hair back off her face and huffing out a short, embarrassed laugh, the redhead shrugged. “i don’t– only if you want to. i don’t want to take you out of your way or anything. are you sure you aren’t busy?” she asked, watching him carefully, trying to find out if he was just being nice or if he meant it.

leon can’t help but chuckle as he watches winnie rush around, saying her goodbyes and getting ready to leave. her nature is so different to his, they’re basically opposites in most ways, and yet he can’t help but feel fond of her, soft nature and all. “it’s fine, really. i’ve been cooped up in classes and labs all day, it was about time i got out and about.” not entirely true - leon would stay in his workshop-slash-lab all day if he had the option, but he knew he had to come and pick up winnie. and she has a habit of making a big deal out of nothing, so - he’d rather try and wave it off now than have her overthink it.

winnie had always loved working with kids – they were so much easier to understand than her peers, and what’s more, kids liked her. and even when they didn’t, which wasn’t often, they were honest about it, so she had no real reason to be anxious about it. the redhead, however, had just spent the last twenty minutes talking to a mother – somebody who was much more difficult to gauge, in terms of how much she liked her – and was glad to see her go.

“sorry, sorry! i’m coming now!” she called out to her old friend, collecting the last few paintings and hanging them up to dry, unaware of the small blue flick of paint on her cheek. “kids are great! mrs conley’s boy is exceptional in music, even for this gifted lot, so i had to just speak to her about it. i’m so sorry to keep you waiting. thank you for coming to get me!”

the thing about winnie, about their friendship, is that leon’s never actually annoyed at her. how could he be? she’s about the sweetest person on the planet. and they basically grew up together. however, she’s also ridiculously easy to tease and poke fun at - in the most harmless way possible, of course - and leon’s always here for that. so where he means something as a joke, somehow winifred banner-ross will always take it way too seriously.

@nextfuturist

“Okay, Okay! Enough playing around, you promised you’d help me with my Mark I suit and I need to finish it cause I’m already on a Mark II design and it’s not upgraded yet but aesthetically it can be considered an improvement.” She explains as she drags Leon by the hand into the lab. “But eventually I’m gonna start thinking up upgrades, and things to fine-tune cause in my head I’ll have already thought of something more efficient before I even use it the Mark I and that would be a tragedy.” Piper has been very excited to get her suit ready and getting it ready or a test drive. She was very excited to actually fly in her own suit, and not one of her fathers old suits she just took out for a joyride.

She has everything set in the lab but she had to hunt down her brother and drag him down, playfully knowing she wasn’t really bothering him at that moment. He had said he would make time today anyway. She let go when they were close to the table and started over organizing the tool set up she had ready as she wanted certain tools they would need more frequently closer within in their reach.

“i don’t remember using the words i promise. i think you’re making things up, pip.” leon teases, though he doesn’t resist as his sister pulls him along into the lab. he’s absolutely poking fun at her - he did promise and he remembers doing so, and while it’s easy to tease her or make a big deal about it and make it seem like this is the last place he wants to be, he would never go back on a promise to one of his siblings. “you know, a mark ii design isn’t all that practical when we still need to get mark i off the ground. i get you’re thinking ahead but - let’s make sure the first one actually works.” and he doesn’t mean it in a you can’t do this way. he’d never even think that about piper. he absolutely means it in a i don’t want you to crash and get hurt kind of way.

maybe he should do the first test flight. that could work. pip doesn’t even need to know, right?

it’s endearing, to see winnie in her element. to watch her working with the children at the daycare centre, clearly completely absorbed in what she’s doing, in giving them 100% of her attention. not that leon’s surprised to see it, of course. winnie’s just got that kind of personality, the kind that’s suited to.. helping. caring. it’s just how she is. so it’s nice to see her in her element.

peter opens and closes his hand in the universal symbol for blah-blah-blah.  little twerpy brat.  who does he remind peter of ??  oh yeah, like every dude with too much money and objective smarts. “ we’re all busy guys, leon.  i’m asking for your help. ”  peter gives a casual shrug, hands over a bag of chips too.  “ those are technically fried, all yours.  “ besides, this isn’t ta stuff.  this is evil people stuff. ” 

 june rolled her eyes, pulling away from her lecture notes she was writing to look over at leon with a glare. “ don’t you get tired of coming in here to tear apart the equipment your family paid for? “ she asked, spinning her chair to face him. “ do you even still have access to stark money here? “ 

“christ, this stuff is old.” leon says with a crinkled nose as he wanders into june’s lab, hands tucked into his pockets. he knows he doesn’t technically own the place, but he knows there’s a good amount of stark money here and that’s enough for him to be a bit like this. just a bit. maybe not as much as this but - hey, sue him. “seriously. can you please let me get some new equipment in here? i don’t know how you work it’s a tragedy.”

peter drops down on his haunches to the dog’s level and goes ahead and hands the magnificent beast a quarter of his sandwich.  peter’s a lot of things, but he’s not the kind of monster who can eat in front of a dog without sharing.  peter turns the small, pathetically-attempting-to-scuttle drone over in his hands a few times before putting it down on its back in front of leon.  “ well, see, that’s the problem.  i gotta try to repair it, so i can watch the footage && find out what happened.  seemed way up your alley, partner.  and, wait a second !! ” he fakes a gasp and takes out another parchment-wrapped sandwich out of his bag. “ what’s that? a delicious bribe? ”