#also i had to dig through the photos of the flight itinerary sent to me to find a number to enter

[supercantaloupe]

good gd i hate arranging travel through a group/agency rather than by myself now

[brainrattlers]

Alloy Allies, Pt 2/?

Summary: Realizing your life is pretty ho-hum, you get an opportunity to start a new job in a new world for you.  You just didn’t realize how ho-hum life was until after you started working there, and meeting a lot of new people. Characters: Avengers, Female reader, and I have no idea who else may show up yet. Word Count: 5,965 Warnings: Hmm. Nothing much, other than a big issue with motion sickness.  Being awkward with strangers.  (This is pretty much the story of my life, minus being in NYC and the actual characters.) Author’s Note: No seriously, I get horribly motion sick on airplanes and in elevators.  And me meeting new people? It is a disaster.  Since it is taking me so long to write, have a ginormous chunk :)  I haven’t given up on IHICHI, I just needed some time to regroup.

(Part 1)

After a day of lining up a backup for you at work, in case any of your clients have issues, you packed up what you thought you might need for a couple of days. Laptop, headphones, camera, chargers for everything. Couple pairs of clothes, including some slacks and a nice blouse, despite the previously mention of being overdressed during the Skype interview.  All the necessities for travel were stowed away in your backpack.

And a ton of Dramamine.

Flying in airplanes. Roller coasters. Being in cars with other people driving. It wasn’t your thing as you dreaded something even as simple as an elevator ride.  Some people love amusement park rides… but there are some people who just don’t.  Take a wild guess as to which side you fell to? Yeah.  The joke in your family had always been “Oh, going on vacation? We’re buying stock in Dramamine!”  It was the only thing that kept you from being sick all the time during car trips growing up.

Being the planner you were, you went to bed early in hopes you’d get some sleep. Instead, you just stared at the ceiling for several hours, seemingly falling asleep right before your alarm went off.  Since sleep really wasn’t happening, you hopped up and made some breakfast so you’d have some food in your stomach before the flight.  Cleaned up the place a bit too, not sure why, but there was a nagging feeling in your stomach about it.  You did feel better afterward, seeing all the dishes washed and laundry put away.  Texting one of your colleagues, you snagged a ride to the airport.  

The scenario was a bit surreal.  Your airport certainly wasn’t huge like O’Hare, it had A check-in counter. For all flights. One gate. One security line. Just one.  You hesitantly approached the counter, and provided your ID and itinerary.

“Oh, hello Miss Y/L/N, we were informed of your flight plans today.  I have your paperwork right here, we’ll just need you to go through the security lane, and we’ll get you boarded.”  You were ushered to a table and a metal detector.  You opened your bag, pulling out your electronics so they could be scanned, and sauntered through the metal detector. Once past it, you retrieved your items and repacked up your backpack.  The desk attendant brought you to a doorway that was not the gate, but would take you to the tarmac.  Shielding your eyes from the sun as you followed close behind, leading you to the small jet parked.  The door opened, steps accordioning down to the ground, meeting your feet.  The attendant assisted you into the jet, while the desk worker wished you a good flight.

Once inside, the attendant latched the door, and offered you a seat.

“Your choice!”  The attendant swept her hand around, “You’re the only one on this flight, any of them are yours.  Just be sure to secure your bag and buckle in for take-off.”

You stared, wide-eyed, at the cabin.

“First time on a private?  I get it, it can be a little overwhelming. My name is Anna, once we’re in the air, if you need anything, just press this button on your seat and I can get you what you need.  Looks like the pilot is signaling we’re good to go, if you are?”

You nodded as you chose a seat with a table, buckling your seatbelt and stowing your bag under the chair.  A wash of nerves came over you as you hoped the Dramamine was going to do its thing correctly.  Anna disappeared to the front of the jet, strapping in for take-off.  

The engines revved  up, and you felt the jet begin to move, fingers gripping the armrests tightly.  As you taxied to the runway, the color of your knuckles went from flesh to white with your speed increasing.  Leaning back, you closed your eyes and held your breath and the jet released contact with the asphalt below.  Looking out the window wasn’t an option, you knew you were going to get dizzy if you did.

A few minutes later, the death grip you had on the chair released itself, and you began breathing normally again.  Anna popped in to see if you needed anything right away.  Still unsure if your Dramamine was going to hold out, you asked for ginger ale, if there was any.

Anna returned with a fancy glass filled with bubbling, champagne-colored liquid, and a fancy ginger curl garnish, placing it on a coaster in front of you.

“If you need anything else, please do not hesitate to ask!  Feel free to get comfortable, and move around if you’d like.”

Cold beverage in hand, you took a sip, relishing the sensation of the cool liquid in your mouth.  It tasted divine.  Your anxiety about the flight subsided, you pulled your bag out from under the chair.  Digging around you found your laptop and headphones, and pulled up a program with multiple windows, along with some tunes to code to.  As things were running, you received a notification that you could connect to a wifi network.  Unsure if you were allowed to or not, you paged Anna to question that, along with getting a refill on the ginger ale.

“Absolutely, to both of those!  Your potential employer wants you to be comfortable as possible during your flight.”

Connecting to the wifi signal, you didn’t do a whole lot with it, other than shoot a photo out the window and post it to Instagram, and check Facebook quickly.  With the tunes playing in your ears, another ginger ale with curly garnish in front of you, coding was back on your mind.  Clicking away on the keys, you sent a line of code to the various windows you had open, showing different virtual robotic arms.  Three of the four virtual devices responded accordingly, with the fourth remaining still.  You bumped your head with the beat of the music, trying different snippets of code, with three of the four responding still.  Multiple tries, same result.

It wasn’t until Anna came by and tapped you on the shoulder, letting you know it was nearly time to land, that you realized you’d been working for quite a while without realizing.  Taking off your headphones, you packed up your laptop, and kept your thoughts with the program, trying to figure out what was causing the issue.  Finishing the last of your ginger ale as the jet landed, you were relieved to be on the ground. But then a new wave of nervousness washed up.

You were in New York City.  Interview time. And you still didn’t know what the job was.

The jet came to a halt, and Anna opened the door, leading you down the stairs.  Expecting to be at a busy airport like LaGuardia, you actually found yourself at a small landing strip, with an amazing view of the skyline.  You shielded your eyes as you stepped out, turning circles to take it all in before quickly being whisked away by a woman in a business suit with a tablet.

“Miss Y/L/N, glad to have you here.  Your interviewer is ready, and is excited to meet you.  Based on what we’ve seen of your work, he is very excited to get things started,” the woman prattled on as she guided you toward a large black SUV, opening the back  door for you to step in.  You scooted in, putting your bag down beside you, getting quite a fright as you looked up to see an attractive man in sunglasses sitting in front of you.

“Oh, uh, I.. I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

“I didn’t mean to startle you, Y/N.  Can I call you Y/N? Or should I stick with Miss Y/L/N?”  The man stuck his hand out, and you reached yours out to shake it.

“I just didn’t expect anyone else, I’m sorry. Yes, you can call me Y/NNNNNNN—” You drew out the name as you also weren’t expecting the man to take your hand to kiss your knuckles in an oddly formal/romantic/possibly creepy greeting.

“Excellent, Y/N.  I’m glad you’re here.”  The man took off his sunglasses.

You suddenly realized you were in the presence of one Tony Stark.  Words started failing you, and Tony simply chuckled.

“Sweetheart, can I call you that? I know I’d be in awe of me as well, but we’ve got a lot to talk about today.  So you’ll need to get over your fangirling so we can chat about your work.  Now what can you tell me about NFCs?”

You blinked a few times, trying to form words again.  Finally they started spilling out, especially as Near Field Communications was something you toyed with a few years ago.  The most popular current use for NFC devices are cell phones - think paying for items with your phone, tapping the credit card terminal and your debit card gets charged, without having to swipe your card.  There are other uses as well, it is a growing field.

After feeling like you just spoke for way too long, Tony smirked as he opened the door to the car.

“We’re here, and I’m glad you talked that long because I didn’t have to make up anything to sound smart.  So let’s show you where you’ll be working at.”

“Um, what now?”  You were a little lost, other than you were aware you were in a garage filled with fancy cars sporting license tags like FE MAN1 and STRKMBL. “I’m still not sure what the job is.”

“That’s the thing, sweetheart, we just want you to do what you’ve been doing.  Hold on, let me just show you some stuff, and I think you’ll love it.”  Tony guided you, along with several other employees that joined you in the garage, to an elevator.  

You flinched stepping in, hoping that your Dramamine from the flight was not going to fail you now.  Grabbing the railing inside the elevator car, you closed your eyes and held on tight as the car began to move.

“Are you still with us, YN/?”

Doing your best to hide your motion sickness, you took a deep breath and opened your eyes as the elevator whooshed upward.  Your stomach felt like it was pushed to the floor and your hopes dropped when you noticed you were going up nearly 70 floors.

“Ye-ah, I’m here. I just don’t care for elevators,” you managed to get out before the car came to a quick stop. Inhaling deeply, you blinked hard and swallowed everything back down before exiting the lift.

“You’ll get used to them, promise.  I don’t think you’re going to want to take the stairs, as going up 70 flights of stairs every day may not be your favorite thing in the world.  Plus, I heard you were a fan of the ginger ale on my jet… I can make sure your fridge is stocked.  Anyway sweetheart, shall we?”  Tony guided you toward a large room that was like a grand entrance to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

Inside was rows of workstations, touchscreen tables, and most impressive, projected displays suspended in mid-air, where people could “touch” items and move them around. You’d only seen such things in movies and didn’t believe they were real.  Your eyes were glassy and wide like marbles, and Tony couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Oh kid, I love showing this stuff off to everyone.  But I think I need to call a friend over to show you a few other things,” Tony turned away, scanning the room. “Hey, Bruce! C’mere!  I want you to meet Y/N, and tell her what you’re working on.”

You froze up immediately.  Dr. Bruce Banner was an idol of yours for quite some time, despite that whole turning green and enlarging with rage bit.  He’d mainly been successful in meditating and keeping it in check, and was able to continue his studies.  It wasn’t something you normally did, but you started fangirling again and not sure what to say.  You stuttered. You shook his hand probably too long. It was just awkward, but you were sure that these guys got that often.  After letting go of the insane grip you had, Bruce started talking about the projects he was working on.

“So is this something you could see yourself collaborating on, Y/N?” Bruce looked hopeful.

“I’d love to be working on this sort of thing, Dr. Banner, but what does that have to do with my skills? I’ve never worked with this sort of tech before.”

“It’s Bruce, and that is why I said ‘collaborating,’ because we’d be taking what you’re going to be working on and blending it in.”

“That sounds interesting but, I don’t know Dr. Banner. I mean Bruce. Sorry. Agh! I am just.. Ahhh!” You flailed a bit and tried to get it all under control.  Both Bruce and Tony looked at each other and shrugged.  Getting the anxiety back in check, breathing in and out, you continued.  “I just don’t know if I’m the right one for the job, as I’m still not even sure what it is.”

Tony took control of the conversation.  “We’ve been seeing what you’ve been working on with languages with the legacy robotics, and we think it is something that could come in very useful. You’re also very versatile, so we’ve got plenty of upcoming projects for you to work on here in the science and engineering sectors.  But what you’ve been working with currently, that is what we’re super excited for.”

“You know this is just a hobby for me, right?”

“Those are the best sort of jobs though, working with what doesn’t feel like work - Iron Man never would have been a thing if I didn’t enjoy it. And look what I’ve been doing with all the suit designs?  That reminds me, I’ll have to show you the latest iteration of it.  Maybe give you an old one to play with to see what you can program it to do.”  Tony smiled and grabbed your hand.  “Please work with us? Pretty please with sugar on top?”

The look on your face was one of confusion, excitement, horror, worry, and general not-knowing-what’s-up.  Someone approached Tony from behind you, turning to face you.

“Tell you what, kid.  HR is going to give you a tour of the building, and you can make your decision. But think about how HAPPY you would make us if you joined our team!  Please sweetheart, make the right choice.  Alright,” Tony turned to the HR rep, “Take good care of our Y/N here, and convince her this is the right job.”  He patted the HR rep’s shoulder as he and Bruce went back to work.  She simply chuckled and smiled warmly at you.

“Alright,  Y/N, I’m sure you’ve got plenty of questions, but I’ve been told to give you the tour first.  Feel free to ask any questions though that come up while we’re taking a look around.  First, I see you have an acquaintance over at the Maria Stark Foundation, I thought we’d drop by there first and maybe you can say hello real quick before we head off on this adventure.”

Oh boy, another elevator ride, all the way to the 3rd floor.  You got your bearings and followed the HR person through a row of cubicles and knocked on the cube wall.  Y/F/N’s chair turned around, and she shrieked, jumping up to hug you.  The two of you chatted for a few moments, until her phone rang, stating she should get back to work.  She wanted to meet up with you that night if you were available though.  The HR person smiled and nodded as you said you’d text her when you were finished up.

Continuing on with the tour, you took multiple elevator rides to seemingly opposite ends of the building constantly.  The Dramamine was wearing off, and the HR person could tell.

“We’re almost done, Miss Y/L/N, actually we’re going to meet with Mr. Stark again here shortly. Did you have any questions?”

“Actually, I do, and I hate to just put it out there, but what sort of pay am I looking at?  Y/F/N was telling me about her rent situation and I am very concerned about not being able to afford it.”

“Fair question, and I am glad you asked.  First I wanted to show you the fitness area you’ll have access to… it is up on floor 82.”  You groaned at the thought of another elevator ride.  Stepping out slowly, you were brought into a darkened room that was unlike the normal cheery gyms with music pumping and rows of cardio equipment. Instead, there was more open area, lots of mats.  A rack of weights was along one wall, and a handful of treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes were on the other side.  A punching bag was in a dark corner, and some movement caught your eye as a figure was doing situps.  The figure stopped, and you could feel eyes on you as a low grunt emitted from the shadows, going back to working out.

“Oh, I am so sorry sir, we didn’t mean to interrupt.”

The man continued working out as she lead you out of the gym.

“You never know whom you’ll run into around here.  This gym is a little different from most, but Mister Stark has requested that you have access to this particular one.  Anyway, where were we, oh yes, compensation.  I think Mister Stark has created quite compensation package. I know you were concerned about rent, but rest assured, he has you covered.”  The representative handed you a packet with the top sheet indicating pay.

Your eyes widened in shock.  The breakdown included “rent”, and you asked what that entailed.

“Actually Mr. Stark has you slated to be living on the 86th floor. Suite 4.”

“Like... here?”

“Oh yes, he figures you’d want to be near the action.  I believe his words were ‘I’ve seen her posts on forums, and when inspiration strikes she runs with it, no matter the time of day.’”

You couldn’t disagree with that statement.  Sleeping wasn’t always something you did at night, and more often than not, you’d work into the wee hours, only to take naps and sleep later.  You might have to work on that schedule a bit though.

The elevator doors opened, and Tony sauntered through the doors.

“So Y/N, tell me you’ll work for me. Seriously I think you’re going to love it.  I tell you what, give me 2 weeks, and if you don’t love it, no hard feelings and you can go back to your hum-drum job you had earlier.”

You flinched at the thoughts running through your head.  Were you flinching at the fact he called your job hum-drum, or was it the fact you were agreeing with him? Nothing in particular was keeping you there, other than all your stuff.  The amount of pay you were going to get was way more than you were making at home.  And apparently rent was taken care of?  You couldn’t believe this opportunity that was falling into your lap.  You’d be crazy to say no.  The only trick was getting yourself to say yes.  It was far from home, it was somewhere new, where you only knew Y/F/N.  Sure, you’d meet new people, but this would be a huge change.  Plus all of your stuff was neatly tucked away at home. Somewhere familiar.

Internally, your brain shot back arguments at itself for one side or the other.  You took a deep breath trying to quell the inner dialog.  Before your brain could send another thought through, you opened your mouth.

“Okay.”

Tony took a step back, clutching his chest in surprise.  “Is… is that a yes?”

You gulped down the nerves that suddenly erupted. “Yes.”

Tony damn near squealed as much as a guy can, and got up close, grabbing your hand and twirling you around in a celebratory dance.  

“This is the best news.  Alright, well then, I’m going to let you finish up your new hire tour, and get things going.  YES… I must go tell Bruce the good news.  I will see you soon, Y/N… I hope you’re excited, I can’t wait to see what you do!” Tony nearly skipped back to the elevator, giving a thumbs up as the door closed in front of him.

Your mind and heart were racing, a feeling of being overwhelmed washed over you as the HR rep continued talking. Most of it went in one ear and out the other.  Finally getting your attention, you were snapped back into reality.  Following the explanation, you were going to finish up paperwork, get your ID badge made (“Really? I’ve been traveling all day and am motion-sick from the elevators, and you want to take my photo?”), and your last stop on the tour, your new home.

Home.  It was weird to say that.  The final elevator ride took you to floor eighty-six.  The two of you walked down the hallway, showing off the communal kitchen that was stocked full of food, a common room with couches and a giant television, and finally, your space.  The representative handed you your ID badge, and had you swipe it in front of the sensor, unlocking the door.  

As you heard the door lock clicking, you noticed a brown-haired man walking down the hall in a henley and jeans, although you didn’t have a chance to really see who it was.  He dug a key card out of his pocket and swiped it, stepping inside almost immediately without looking over your direction.  Something glinting in the light of the hallway caught your eye, but you couldn’t figure out what was shiny.  Maybe it was just your imagination playing with you, as tired as you were.  Your attention was regained quickly as you felt the air shift as the door opened in front of you.

“It is small, but should be more than adequate to fit your needs.”

You started laughing as soon as you walked in.  Your tour guide looked at you with concern to your sudden outburst.

“Small? The living room is nearly the size of my whole apartment back home… er...  that is going to take some getting used to not saying.”

“Mr. Stark has set you up with some necessities to get you through the next few days, although I’m seeing that the movers will be at your old apartment tomorrow at 5am to pack and move you, and things should start arriving around noon.  And I see you start work on Friday, so you will have a day of work and then the weekend at least.  Just remember, Mr. Start works hard, and expects to play hard too, so at least you’ll have some time to rest before Monday again.  Should be fairly quiet this week though, some of your neighbors work off-site often, and are currently out working.  I’m sure you’ll get to meet them soon enough though.”  

You were halfway listening as you looked around the space, with a living room, a small kitchenette if you didn’t feel like using the communal kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom.  

“You’re welcome to keep your furniture, but if there is anything already here you decide you like more, we’re more than happy to store your things until you decide what to do with them.”

Nodding, you wandered toward the window, with a view overlooking the city.  You couldn’t look down as everything started to spin, but looking out at the expanse, you felt very small.  It was all setting in, especially when your guide started having you mess around with F.R.I.D.A.Y., who was like Siri on steroids.   F.R.I.D.A.Y. was tied into the whole building, and depending on your security level, you could access other people’s info or at least figure out where they were.  After explaining a few features, you were given a few small tasks to get you used to talking to F.R.I.D.A.Y. to set up things, get information, and just generally not be weirded out that you were talking to a computer.

Satisfied that you were good to go for the night, the representative provided her contact info in case you were needing anything immediately, and wished you the best of luck.  

You set your backpack on the chair in the living room, and sat on the bed.  Exhausted, you fell backward, plopping your head on a pillow.  A soft groan left your mouth as your body seemed to meld with the mattress.

“I might just have to put my old bed in storage… this bed is WAY better than my own,” you thought to yourself.  Grabbing your phone, you texted Y/F/N that you were done for the day, but exhausted.  

“Can we do something low-key tonight for dinner? I seriously feel like I’ve been running all day and hit with the exhaustion stick.”

“Sure. I’m just finishing up for the day.  I know the perfect place.  Where are you right now?”

“I’m in my ‘room’ for the next few days.  I can come meet you, I need to get used to the layout of the place.”

“Sure thing. Meet me in level 3 of the parking garage.  My spot is #313. See you in a couple! EEE!”

Wandering the hall to the elevator, you took a deep breath and stepped inside the car, and told FRIDAY to send you to level 3 parking.  The feeling of weightlessness took hold as you whooshed toward the ground, gripping the rail tight with eyes closed.  Once you came to a stop, the doors opened, and you inhaled slowly trying to regain your bearings.  You wandered up and down some rows of cars, and finally saw Y/F/N coming toward you.

“OH MY GOSH Y/N!” She hugged you tightly. “I can’t believe you’re really here.  It is about time you made it out here.  You have to tell me ALL about it!  I need details!”  Y/F/N was nearly shaking you all while jumping up and down in excitement.  Dragging you to her car, you hopped in the passenger side, zooming out of the garage.

“I know the perfect place to eat, not too far from here.  Italian okay?”

You nodded as the car pulled up to the curb in front of a tiny little restaurant tucked in amongst storefronts.  Once seated inside the quaint mom-and-pop eatery, the questions were flying at you fast and furious.  Y/F/N wanted all the details.

“WAIT, you’re LIVING in the tower? THAT IS INCREDIBLE!  I’m so jealous!  Ugh, my apartment is a damn shoebox and you, you’re in the tower!”  The squeals never stopped as you tried to explain the situation of you were there temporarily until you made a full decision about the job. “YOU KNOW THE AVENGERS LIVE IN THE BUILDING TOO RIGHT? DID YOU SEE ANY OF THEM?”

Trying to calm her down, you tried to explain you hadn’t, but your realized you actually had… both Stark and Banner.  But you knew that wasn’t what she was angling at - she was in love with Captain America.  Since he broke loose from the ice a few years back, she was smitten.  You heard about it all the time.  About how he could show up at the building, on her floor even, any time… yet never did.  You’d heard stories about how she had hung around trying to get invites to Stark’s soirees, anything so that she could meet Star-Spangled Steve Rogers, but hadn’t.  She insisted you help her.

“Pretty sure I won’t likely be seeing him.  From what I can understand, I’m working in the lab with Stark and Dr. Banner, and I’m not even sure really WHAT I’m doing.”

Continuing on with a rundown of the day and what to expect the next few, your dinner arrived and you ate while talking about feelings with everything, if it was even something you wanted to do even.  But you were going to give it a shot, see what comes of it, considering how excited Stark was.  With dessert plates being pushed away and the finishing of a bottle of wine, your eyes were drooping. Y/F/N realized what time it was, and put it all together, taking you back to the tower.

“We gotta do this again sometime, Y/N.  Housewarming party?”

“HA.  Let’s give it a while before we go that far with it.  Thank you for dinner, and with that, I’m going to bed. Love you!”  You hugged Y/F before getting out of the car.  “We’ll keep in touch, maybe this weekend we can hang out if I’ve got some time off.”  She nodded, and you waved as the car zipped off.

Flashing your ID badge at the door, you headed inside to the dreaded elevator, and took the quick upward ride to the 86th floor.  As the door opened, the man you came across earlier was walking toward you, stoic look on his face.  Clad in gym clothes, he swapped places with you in the elevator as you exited, and gave you a small nod as passed. You waved and attempted to say hi as the doors closed.  

“Hmm. I probably should introduce myself the next time I see someone walking around here…” you thought to yourself as you unlocked your room’s door.  Stepping inside, you kicked your shoes off, and grabbed your bag, pulling out your toiletries and some pajamas, which apparently were an old tee and some boxers.  Climbing into bed, you snuggled into the blanket, asking FRIDAY to turn off the lights, and to make the windows dark.  

Sleep wasn’t a thing to be had apparently, as you tossed and turned. Too many lights, too many sounds that you were not used to.  Finally around 1am, you rolled out of bed.

“FRIDAY? Is there cereal in the kitchen?”

“Yes, Y/N, Mr. Stark said you are more than welcome to utilize the kitchen.”

Pulling your hair back, you quietly exited your room, heading down the hallway toward the communal kitchen.  The lights were dimmed in the hall, but a single light shown near the sink in the kitchen.  Padding silently, you looked for a bowl and a spoon, and found the cereal cabinet.  Looking off into the lounge, you could see the soft glow of the television on, showing a documentary with footage in black and white.  You went back to pouring milk in your bowl, trying to not disturb whomever was sitting in the neighboring room, top of head peeking over the sofa edge.

The intention was to head back to your room, but in a moment of clumsiness, you dropped your spoon, clattering against the ceramic tile floor.  You froze as the head hiding behind the back of the couch whipped around.  Blue eyes were boring into yours, you felt like a deer in headlights before you finally reached down to grab your spoon.  All sorts of thoughts came into your mind, mainly how beautiful this man was.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” awkwardly fell from your mouth. “Um, uh, good night.”  Feet making an about face, you took off for your room, bowl of cereal in tow.  You were starting to kick yourself, remembering your whole plan to start introducing yourself to people.

“Wait, come back...”

You froze again, unsure if the man was speaking to you.  Slowly turning, you mouth “me?” as you point to yourself.

“You’re new here, yeah? I saw you earlier.”

Feet with a mind of their own, they shuffled you back toward the voice in the lounge.  Finally to the side of the couch, you realized it was the man you crossed paths with at the elevator, and earlier, the one that was going into his room when you were finding out about your own.

“Oh, yeah, when I was being shown my room, I remember.”  Smooth.

“Naw, earlier than that.  You were being given the tour of the gym, but I’m not sure why you were at that particular gym.  Or on this floor either.” He eyed you up and down, smirking.  

It then hit you that you were in your pajamas, and you felt awkward as hell.

“Er, yeah.  And uh, um, yeah I’m new,” covering yourself with your arms holding the bowl of cereal.  “I guess my stuff gets here tomorrow, hence my spectacular pajamas.  I start working with Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner on Friday. Oh, hi,” you stuck out your free hand, “I’m Y/N.”  You finally did it.

The man stared at your hand, and then slowly took it in his, shaking it slowly.  “James.”

“It’s uh, nice to meet you James.  I should let you get back to your documentary, I should probably sleep.  Maybe I’ll see you around though.”

A small smile graced his face.  “You don’t have to leave.” There was a twinge of loneliness in his voice.  “I know things can be a little overwhelming here, us rookies gotta stick together, y’know? I do hope I see you around though, Y/N.”

Your fingers were still being held by his, and it was realized by both that it might be a tad awkward as you pulled apart  It then also registered what he said, and you felt your cheeks turning a bit pink at his statement.  A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.  

With a tiny nod, you took your cereal bowl and spoon with you back to your room.  As you opened your door, you glanced over at the lounge again, seeing James peeking over the top of the sofa at you, his eyes crinkling with a hidden smile behind the cushions.  A small grin and blushed cheeks appeared on your face as you looked down at the door knob, before turning it and going inside.

With the cereal on your desk, you pull out your laptop and start working on the project you were working on during your flight.  Still struggling with one model of virtual mechanical arm not responding correctly, you leaned back and pinched the bridge of your nose and tightly squeezed your eyes shut.

“Miss Y/L/N, may I interrupt?”   F.R.I.D.A.Y. scared the hell out of you, but you realized it was something you’re just going to have to get used to.  “I have two messages from Mr. Stark.  First, he said to tell you to check how the particular model was deprecating your character strings, try extending it with the snippet of code I have just emailed you.  Second, he says that you should stop working, you don’t start until Friday morning.”

You stared at the screen, lines of code blurring your vision.  After tapping a few keys, all four virtual arms articulated their fingers into peace signs.

“ F.R.I.D.A.Y., how did Mr. Stark know I was working on this?”

“He said to remind you that there is no such thing as a free lunch. He saw you working on the jet, and knew you’d probably be working tonight.”

You laughed.  “Thanks F.R.I.D.A.Y., I should have known.  Tell Mr. Stark that his code worked, and that if I am not supposed to be up working this late, either is he.”  Eyes beginning to get heavy, you decided to call it a night.  “Goodnight, F.R.I.D.A.Y.”

“Goodnight, Miss Y/L/N.”

You facepalmed yourself, realizing you just said goodnight to a computer.  But you didn’t care at that point, you were going to need a few hours of sleep before your things arrived first thing in the morning.

[rhettsooo]

Friday, January 13th to Saturday January 14th, 2017- Gili Air, Mt. Bromo, Yogyakarta

It's on this day I say good bye to the enchanting Gili Air and begin to squeeze in more of Indonesia - or at least as much as possible in my remaining 6 days of travel. Next stop is East Java where Mt Bromo is, the next mountain I want to conquer... but first I have to figure out how I'm doing that...  with a twist: while I'm literally traveling there. What I mean by this is; I have no concrete plans on how I'm going to get to Bromo, but the goal is to do it on this night, to technically see sunrise. All I have sorted so far is the ferry off Gili Air and a bus on the other side to take me to Lombok International Airport, where I've seen online many flights departing that work in my favour, so I'm taking my odds and going in just a little blind. The ferry was the easy part: a short 20 minutes on a 20 person fishing-like boat. Nothing like the 'fast boat' we took to the island-- in fact the exact opposite. In the harbour on the other side, it was a slight panic as locals greeted the boat asking arriving passengers if they needed transport, which was me, but I had transport pre-arranged as part of  shuttle bus, so I struggled for a couple minutes cutting through the noise to hear what was relevant for me and found MY guy pretty easily. An older couple, maybe 50 years old and German, were also on a similar trajectory. They ended up with MY guy too, but their struggle was laughable and entertaining to watch. He (of the couple) had a face that was permanently grumpy (imagine grumpy cat, but on a man) and the woman would always look to him for guidance or direction, but he hadn't a clue. His grumpy face would sometimes gain an injection of confusion or difficulty as he tried to manage their huge piece of luggage off this little fishing boat and on to the beach and then finding THE guy he needed. I think I got such entertainment from this couple because they seemed like the 'all-inclusive resorts' type; you know the type that wants everything done for them and wants to just relax without stress. Thus, they weren't ready for the spice to life island life brings ;) We (myself and this German? couple) wound up with the same GUY, who directed his friends(?) to grab their luggage - since they were struggling - and we all went to a horse-drawn carriage that we maxed out with us four bodies (our GUY, this couple, and myself) and our luggage. It was pretty funny. Especially when the couple didn't want to tip the dude carrying their luggage for him. Shame on him. So we're all in this carriage for about 20 minutes as we trust that this GUY is legit and actually taking us to our bus...which he did :) We waited for the bus for an hour, which was great because I could get some breaky and find some WiFi to figure out how I'm getting to Bromo. I found some tours that included airport pick up, hotel, trek up Bromo, and drop off where ever I wanted, so sent maybe 6 email inquiries hoping that one of them would reply by the next time I reach WiFi, and not to mention could pick me up in like 10 hours at this point. The bus to the airport was long. Very long. I tried to relax, but the windy roads quintupled with the crazy driving wouldn't allow. Did I mention that drivers pass other drivers at any moment. Regardless of lines, corners, oncoming traffic, etc, they'll give warming with a tap on the horn and somehow pull it off. At the airport I found the ticket office for LionAir, the cheaper of the airlines I uncovered earlier, and bought a ticket with a sigh of relief. Now to figure out what's happening on the other side of this flight. I found WiFi and welcomed two replies in my inbox, so now it was a race between them to see who I can confirm first....and with two hours to spare before my flight departed, I confirmed a driver to pick me up and the whole nine yards. WOO WOO Yes the price was a little more than what I would've liked, but I got exactly what I wanted and nothing more or less-- my itinerary was perfect. Since I had some stress free time before my flight, I started thinking about the other side of Bromo, so what the fuck I was going to do tomorrow after the sunrise trek and essentially where I was going to be dropped off. I knew I wanted to go to Yogyakarta in Central Java next, but hadn't a clue how I was going to get there, so I did some digging and found a train! At a fraction of the cost of a plane, but about 5 times as long, the train schedule lined up perfectly; I couldn't have planned it better. So in full, the day would look like this; 1) Ferry from Gili Air to Lombok 2) Shuttle bus from the harbour to the airport 3) Plane to Surabaya airport in East Java 4) Driver from Surabaya to Mt. Bromo 5) Driver from Mt. Bromo back to Surabaya 6) Train from Surabaya to Yogyakarta ^^fun note: this all happens within about 36 hours of each other. Crazy right! After the dull plane ride and the crazy drive from the airport in the rain and traffic to Bromo, I checked into my hotel at about midnight, so I'm now into the next day and have ~4 hours until we leave for sunrise over Mt Bromo. With nothing more than a nap, my driver and I left for a 20min drive to base camp for going up. It was dark. Wet. And cold. Like Canada cold, but luckily I knew what I was doing and bundled up with my touque and gloves and lots of layers. My driver dropped me at the trail and gave me some loose directions. Although it was just me - technically, there dozens of others trying to catch the sunrise from the top too, so I followed the path while keeping an awareness of what the other groups were doing to not go anywhere I wasn't suppose to. The first 30 min of walking up a gradual hill of gravel road was easy and spat out at the first of two view points. This particular one wasn't anything special - besides it being pitch black; you would just see the town below and the crater around the volcano. Oh yeah, Mt. Bromo is an active valcano. So I kept on keeping on up the next bit of the climb. It turned to steps, kind of, for another 45min or so to the top. But it wasn't really the top, it was a peak called Seruni Point. Yes, you could keep going up, but it would have been some serious bushwacking and very vertical. It was here that I chilled and watched sunrise. I found a good spot and struck conversation with this group of kids that had rode their motorbikes over night for 6 hours in the rain to catch the sunrise...crazy kids! I told them I/we are the same: going to crazy distances/lengths to catch the sunrise. The sun itself created a nice glow on the town below and the crater beside us. Although it was stuck behind the rain clouds for a bit, it showed its face and provided some good photo opps. I revealed in its glory, once again being reminded on a) how fucking fortunate I am to be enjoying this moment and b) how the fuck did I pull this off -- hahaha Now the sunrise wasn't the most exciting I had seen on the trip, it was the most illuminating, meaning now that it was light out, I truly got perspective: Although I thought I was going up Mt. Bromo, I had climbed Mount Penanjakan and gotten to Seruni Point, which is the mountain next to Bromo. The sun rose over Bromo and it's crater and the village of Cemoro Lawang below. The crater I was looking out to actually housed my hotel, among other buildings of the village. (An appreciation I didn't have until now and then to be reaffirmed by Dad via text later). If I wanted to check out Bromo, it would require a few more hours to not only descend Mt. Penanjakan and drive back to the village, but a walk across the Sea of Sand and only then be able to elevate myself on Mt. Bromo, physically. Now as much as I wanted to do all of this, it was beginning to rain like a mutha fucker (and if I've learned anything on the trip, it's that when it rains, it pours) and as ready as I was for rain - umbrella, jacket, boots, etc - I wasn't feeling it. And in actual fact, I was feeling like I had done what I came for: to see the sunrise and Mt. Bromo. *Looking back as I write this and read more about Bromo after the fact, I kinda wish I wasn't a big baby and just did it. But, now I have a reason to bring go back, but with company this time* Anywho, the sunrise ended and I have to check out of this hotel, but first it's time for breakfast and figuring out this train situation... Nowhere online would let me book a train ticket and no blog or equivalent was helpful, so I asked real people: first my driver, who had no clue, then the hotel desk, which also had no clue, but he asked his friend who said you can get them at the Indomaret (Seven Eleven of Indonesia). "OK, so the Indomaret eh, I can roll with that", I was thinking, so got my driver to make the stop en route to the train station. At the first Indomaret, there system was down, so couldn't help. The second Indomaret taught us that you can't buy train tickets on the day of departure unless you're at the station. Oooooooo kaaaaay, I guess I'm taking a leap and getting dropped off at the station hoping there's a ticket for me-- which there was! WOO WOO! Once I grabbed my ticket, I found a snack at Dunkin Donuts - which is super popular in Indonesia, alongside KFC - in case you were wondering - and hijacked their WiFi to find accomodation after this train in Yogyakarta. I found this quaint homestay 25min walk from the train station, in a relatively central neighbourhood at a great rate. Boom! I now had somewhere to sleep for the next few days, phew. The train was fun and really long. Like 7 hours long. But it was fun. There were lots of kids who took a fancy to me and I sat across from a young couple and their newborn, whom spoke English well enough for continued conversation. It gave me time to read and have a breath. Arriving in Yogyakarta at about 9pm in a slight drizzle of rain, I took to the streets on foot to get a sense of the city, the neighbourhood, and the people before calling it a night. My homestay turned out to be in an even-better-than-expected neighbourhood close to little street venders, big clothing stores, food, ATMs, etc, all the while being out of sight and very quiet. Although this place cost a few bucks more a night than a hostel, I had my own room, which was heavenly for a change. (I hadn't had my own room since Vietnam). And with that, I could sleep with ease! Especially since I'd never been more tired on this trip than now and felt like sleeping for an entire day! So I did! After leaving Gili Air 40 hours ago at this point which included 1 ferry, 1 plane, 1 train, two longs drives, a mountain, and shit ton of walking, I called it a night. BOOM! Another great series of adventure, wonder, and suspense :)