The Futurist

“Even so, if we keep up like this one day one of us is going to get tired of it. Then..”  Bruce stopped himself and shook his head. “I don’t, but so far you hold the record for the longest civil conversation I’ve managed to have with a Stark without something clashing between us. That has to mean something right? Perhaps I’ll use the knowledge I’ve gained from being around Tony to help stay on your good side.”

"What's fun on staying on someones good side?" Howard asked jokingly. Howard wasn't exactly having fun if he didn't tease the closest person to him. "I suppose we can see how long this can work out. But no hard feelings if it doesn't?" He held out his hand for the other to shake as an agreement.

+5

Natasha raised an eyebrow. She didn't like people in her space and fortunately every one she worked with were either terrified of her wrath or just being respectful. “Sweetheart? No I don’t think so.” She gave Howard a severe look. “I just stopped by to see if you had anything for SHIELD.”

Hearing the Agency's name he frowned and stepped back. "Oh." He replied disappointed. "If you nosey bigots don't stop forcing yourselves into my house asking me for shit I swear I'm going to invent something you all will regret." 

“A man like me?” he mused. “Of course. You must have some of your own as well.”

"I may have..a few secrets but like you said, everyone has secrets." He replied. 

This sleep thing sucks.

“I dunno what you’re talkin’ about. I’ll have you know I’m great at sarcasm.” Bucky let out a  huff, promptly crossing his arms. “

"Alright, alright." Howard raised his hands in surrender. "If that's what gets you through the day.." 

“Everyone has secrets, Mr. Stark,” the billionaire replied with a hint of a smile, sipping at his drink. 

Howard huffed out a laugh as he watched the other sip at his drink and he himself smiled. "Bruce..." Howard started and laughed again. "We all know a man like you has secrets and by the way you are smiling I'm guessing they're big ones." 

"I don't know if you have them or not. I was hinted to think that you do and seeing that are a very powerful man, I felt the need to believe my source and find out for myself." 

“Yeah, he can be.” Howard didn’t need words for Bruce to know what he meant. “We manage, somehow. Even if most of our talks do end in an argument about something.”

"Well both of you are men of science. It's only natural that the two of you have two different opinions on things and have..arguments..." Howard tried to justify his son's actions but he felt that he fell short of doing so. "How do you know that the two of us can get along, as you should know, Tony didn't get his attitude and his personality from nothing. 

This sleep thing sucks.

“…That was a rhetorical question, Howie. But okay.”

"Well let me tell you, buddy, that you were never any good at sarcasm." Howard raised an eyebrow at the other and curved his lips up into a smile.  

Ask my muse painfully personal questions

This sleep thing sucks.

“Unfortunately. Why isn’t that somethin’ we can do yet?”

"We are organics  meaning our bodies have a mind of their own, meaning if we try to mess with that we would be entering into a whole 'nother ball game that we might not be ready for." 

"It doesn't exactly work that way, my friend." 

"Well hell.." Howard said running a hand through his greasy tangles hair. "After all this time to think over it, you still don't know what you are to me? That's a shame. Quite a shame."