dont-do-anything-i-would-do:

the-perfect-scientist:

dont-do-anything-i-would-do:

the-perfect-scientist:

dont-do-anything-i-would-do

Tony
watched the other and just smiled softly before he pulled out his
tablet and began to work on some coding as the other sketched. He could
multitask, made a habit of it, so why not work on an Upgrade for Jarvis
while he spoke to the young man in front of him.

“Glad to hear you get the time, I’d have paid for a flight home if we
delayed you any way all things considered. I liked what I saw on your
CV, and with your own reports from when you were a student. It’s
interesting to see it all and I like your innovation you got going. Need
more people willing to work like that for us.” Tony smiled softly but
kept his focus on his tablet as he worked. He couldn’t sit still, a bad
habit he always had.

“So what brought you to us? Why did you choose to come here, after
Hammer Tech surely you knew of the issues?” Pepper spoke calmly, not
judging just simply wondering what was going through the other person’s
head.

Carlos tried not to smile too much at Stark’s comments. He
knew that what he had in regards of paperwork behind him (excepting Hammer) was
pretty good. But hearing someone like Tony Stark say that they liked it… It
could turn a man into an embarrassing pile of mush if he wasn’t careful.

But Potts’ questions made it easy for Carlos to return to a
more neutral expression. He realized that while drawing it was a bit harder to
come up with a response other than what he knew to be the absolute truth and
wondered if they planned this. Probably. He didn’t exactly want to straight-up lie, but he didn’t want to over-share his
feelings with them, as well as how desperate and painful his job search had
been.

“Well… honestly, I’ve always thought it would be great to
work with Stark Industries,” he said, thinking carefully about his next words. “I…
I understand that what happened was terrible and…” He paused before taking a
breath. He put his pencil down and looked to Miss Potts and Mr Stark somberly. “I
am very sorry for all the problems and danger that Hammer had put you and your
company through, and I deeply regret any part that I had unwittingly played in
it. This is not meant to sound like an excuse, but… I worked in the safety
department. However I didn’t see an entire project myself – tech was only
showed to us in parts. I did small-scale testing with the parts that I was
assigned to, but full-scale testing was not possible with the way that the labs
were run.

“When I applied for the engineering position from Stark
Industries I just thought… I just thought that the worst that you could say to
me was ‘no’ or to not even reach out to me at all.”

Immediately Carlos started to worry that he’d gotten too wordy and may have just cut off his chances. He knew what happened to those test pilots hadn’t been his fault, but he didn’t think it would be socially proper for him to deny responsibility entirely.

Tony smiled at the honesty from the other and hummed lightly in thought. He wondered about the other, about what brought him to that point, because clearly he had been holding back. “Well at least he’s honest. I knew I’d like him and maybe you’ll finally have someone who’ll tell you what you need to know before it happens.” Tony Chuckled softly to Pepper, who glared at his comment before she looked back over to Carlos with a soft smile.

“It’s okay to be honest. We like it when people are being open and honest about stuff with us. Especially considering everything that’s been going on. We have to be careful so it’s refreshing having someone here who is willing to say what they were thinking.” She smiled softly to him and looked down at the design he was sketching a moment. “Tony found your CV interesting, understanding the position you were put in, and we know many people didn’t see the danger because they couldn’t see the whole picture. That’s how Hammer seemed to work but here, you’ll work with a team on a project together. That way if you think something might go wrong you can fully test it.”

Carlos started to relax slightly. It seemed that that was an
acceptable answer, and he hadn’t messed everything up. That was… that was very
good.

He returned Miss Potts’ smile. “Thank you very much,” he
said. “That’d… it’d be a very nice and welcome change to previous environments
I’d been in.” To actually know when a project was going out, rather than
finding out the day after that it had been presented that it failed
spectacularly…He’d forgotten what a properly functioning lab was like.

Carlos picked up the pencil again and continued with the
drafting. It was starting to take shape finally – it looked like a wheelchair,
but what was immediately different was that the wheels were of a design that he
had been playing with in his head.

“We take care of our staff here, unlike some, I never like seeing them struggle where they don’t need to. There’s a reason we’re ahead and part of that is me, yes, but it’s also the people that work here. We won’t let them down if we don’t need to.”

Tony had said it as if it were a matter of fact and just smiled softly to the man as he sketched out his plan. Pepper smiled softly seeing the interaction between the two and wondered if they both might be helpful for each other in some way before she focused back onto Carlos. “I should hope it does, and maybe in the future if you think something is going wrong while you work here then you can be free to tell us.”

“We like to improve the company and know that the staff being able to tell us about it is a huge thing.”

Carlos’ sketching passed for a moment before continuing with
a very slight smile (that he was trying not to let grow any bigger). What Stark
said just… sounded so genuine. He didn’t say anything different from what he did
in public appearances, but again – Tony Stark saying that to one’s face really
struck home for Carlos and it made him feel like things could be alright.

“Absolutely, Mr Stark – Miss Potts,” Carlos responded,
looking at them. “I care very much about my work and anything I can do to help
it get better I am willing to pursue.”

Carlos glanced down at his sketching again and his smile
faltered a bit. Ugh, he didn’t like how the wheels were looking in the concept.
There were a lot of components he had in mind, but in this one draft it was a
little hard to see it. He drew a line from the wheel’s tread on the profile
view drawing and started to quickly scribble in the notes that he wanted to
make sure to explain. Then he moved onto the next part – a balanced seat.

dont-do-anything-i-would-do:

the-perfect-scientist:

dont-do-anything-i-would-do

Tony
watched the other and just smiled softly before he pulled out his
tablet and began to work on some coding as the other sketched. He could
multitask, made a habit of it, so why not work on an Upgrade for Jarvis
while he spoke to the young man in front of him.

“Glad to hear you get the time, I’d have paid for a flight home if we
delayed you any way all things considered. I liked what I saw on your
CV, and with your own reports from when you were a student. It’s
interesting to see it all and I like your innovation you got going. Need
more people willing to work like that for us.” Tony smiled softly but
kept his focus on his tablet as he worked. He couldn’t sit still, a bad
habit he always had.

“So what brought you to us? Why did you choose to come here, after
Hammer Tech surely you knew of the issues?” Pepper spoke calmly, not
judging just simply wondering what was going through the other person’s
head.

Carlos tried not to smile too much at Stark’s comments. He
knew that what he had in regards of paperwork behind him (excepting Hammer) was
pretty good. But hearing someone like Tony Stark say that they liked it… It
could turn a man into an embarrassing pile of mush if he wasn’t careful.

But Potts’ questions made it easy for Carlos to return to a
more neutral expression. He realized that while drawing it was a bit harder to
come up with a response other than what he knew to be the absolute truth and
wondered if they planned this. Probably. He didn’t exactly want to straight-up lie, but he didn’t want to over-share his
feelings with them, as well as how desperate and painful his job search had
been.

“Well… honestly, I’ve always thought it would be great to
work with Stark Industries,” he said, thinking carefully about his next words. “I…
I understand that what happened was terrible and…” He paused before taking a
breath. He put his pencil down and looked to Miss Potts and Mr Stark somberly. “I
am very sorry for all the problems and danger that Hammer had put you and your
company through, and I deeply regret any part that I had unwittingly played in
it. This is not meant to sound like an excuse, but… I worked in the safety
department. However I didn’t see an entire project myself – tech was only
showed to us in parts. I did small-scale testing with the parts that I was
assigned to, but full-scale testing was not possible with the way that the labs
were run.

“When I applied for the engineering position from Stark
Industries I just thought… I just thought that the worst that you could say to
me was ‘no’ or to not even reach out to me at all.”

Immediately Carlos started to worry that he’d gotten too wordy and may have just cut off his chances. He knew what happened to those test pilots hadn’t been his fault, but he didn’t think it would be socially proper for him to deny responsibility entirely.

Tony smiled at the honesty from the other and hummed lightly in thought. He wondered about the other, about what brought him to that point, because clearly he had been holding back. “Well at least he’s honest. I knew I’d like him and maybe you’ll finally have someone who’ll tell you what you need to know before it happens.” Tony Chuckled softly to Pepper, who glared at his comment before she looked back over to Carlos with a soft smile.

“It’s okay to be honest. We like it when people are being open and honest about stuff with us. Especially considering everything that’s been going on. We have to be careful so it’s refreshing having someone here who is willing to say what they were thinking.” She smiled softly to him and looked down at the design he was sketching a moment. “Tony found your CV interesting, understanding the position you were put in, and we know many people didn’t see the danger because they couldn’t see the whole picture. That’s how Hammer seemed to work but here, you’ll work with a team on a project together. That way if you think something might go wrong you can fully test it.”

Carlos started to relax slightly. It seemed that that was an
acceptable answer, and he hadn’t messed everything up. That was… that was very
good.

He returned Miss Potts’ smile. “Thank you very much,” he
said. “That’d… it’d be a very nice and welcome change to previous environments
I’d been in.” To actually know when a project was going out, rather than
finding out the day after that it had been presented that it failed
spectacularly…He’d forgotten what a properly functioning lab was like.

Carlos picked up the pencil again and continued with the
drafting. It was starting to take shape finally – it looked like a wheelchair,
but what was immediately different was that the wheels were of a design that he
had been playing with in his head.

dont-do-anything-i-would-do:

the-perfect-scientist:

dont-do-anything-i-would-do:

the-perfect-scientist:

dont-do-anything-i-would-do

Tony
shook his head before he looked over to the other. He tilted his head
at the question and smiled sweetly. “Would be all yours, it’s blank,
outsourced paper so our logo isn’t on it anywhere, even under UV, you
can take the plan with you, just want to see what you would plan if we
let you go wild. I’m always interested to see what my employees can come
up with when they are given the chance.”

Tony leaned back in his chair and smiled softly as Pepper sighed
heavily. “It’s simply an offer, something to help you feel more
comfortable, we have been told many of our interviewees like the feel of
being able to plan something out before they talk with us so we can see
what they can do before we ask them whatever we want to and it allows
us to see how they might work. This will be all your work, all your
tech, maybe something you can build here in the future should we find
you an ideal candidate.”

Tony was impressed the guy wanted to check, wanted to make sure his
work wouldn’t be stolen. “This guy has a good head on his shoulders too~
I’m impressed right now.” He chuckled softly and smirked a little as he
looked over the other.

The compliment took Carlos by surprise and before he cracked
a little smile without really thinking about it.

“I just know what happened between Edison and Tesla,” he
quipped; this was a more natural response from him.

But he then cleared his throat, a bit awkwardly. “So… Um,
yeah. I can absolutely do a quick mock for you both to look at. How… how long would
you allow me to work on it?” It would be nice to finally get the idea on paper
so that he had something to add to while he thought about it instead of keeping
mental tabs on it all. He never got the chance to sit down with the idea at
home because he was supposed to be applying for jobs and interviewing.

Tony smiled seeing the man relax a little and it seemed to be easier to talk with him now. He took a moment and watched him before nodding.

“A quick mock would be brilliant. just want to see how you work and see if we can get things sorted to work how you do. We like to meet everyone’s needs here not just those who are easy to work with.” He smiled kindly and ran a hand through his hair. “Let’s say we’ll give you an hour? We can ask you questions while you’re sketching it out to make it easier and then maybe as you to present us what you drew explaining how it would work and why we should make it.”

That meant Carlos would have to think about what to say when presenting. A little bit more on-his-feet-thinking than he was prepared for, but if that was a sort of thing that Stark was looking for then he had to do his best certainly. He decided that he was going to shorthand notes on the blueprint so that when he looked at them he could make connections more quickly while explaining it.

Though… an hour wasn’t a long time for blueprinting at all. But Carlos could make it work. Stark and Potts were pretty busy people, so they must have somewhere to be after this. “That sounds doable, Mr Stark,” Carlos said.

He set his document folder down on the table next to the blueprint paper before finally sitting down in the chair in front of it. He watched Mr Stark and Ms Potts. “So to be clear… we’re doing some of the interview questions while I’m working on this?”

Tony smiled hearing Carlos’ reply and he looked over what the young man was putting down before he heard him ask the question. “If that works for you then that works for us. Either way we want to watch you while you draw up your plans because then we can see just how you work and how well you made it. We’ve had people try to falsify their blueprints, bringing something with them and using that instead of what we ask so we’re gonna stay in here to watch either way.”

“If it runs over then it runs over, and the blue prints don’t have to be perfect, so long as we can get the idea. We know it isn’t the best amount of time for what we ask but if we go over an hour then we have people complaining they were waiting too long.” Pepper said softly.

“And they shouldn’t be complaining if we’re giving them a chance..” Tony grumbled before shaking his head. “Although to be fair, you’re our only interview today so maybe take as long as you need.”

Carlos made a very slight face at the mention of people having tried to bullshit their way through the interview. How long did they think they could keep that up for, if they had somehow managed to get hired that way? They’d have to be an ace conartist to do that.

But he could speculate more about that later, though it was an interesting train of thought. He just nodded to Potts and Stark and reached for the drafting pencil that was provided (it felt different from the BIC mechanical pencils he’d tend to use – definitely more specialized and less cheap). “My flight back home isn’t until tomorrow so I’m not pressed for time at all,” Carlos told them. “I can be here for as long as you think you need me today.”

He reached for the paper that was on the table and pulled it toward himself. He thought for a moment about where to start the drawing before deciding on a front and side view concept layout. He began with vague shapes with light strokes of the pencil, trying to work on both views at the same time so that they matched.

dont-do-anything-i-would-do:

the-perfect-scientist:

dont-do-anything-i-would-do

Tony
shook his head before he looked over to the other. He tilted his head
at the question and smiled sweetly. “Would be all yours, it’s blank,
outsourced paper so our logo isn’t on it anywhere, even under UV, you
can take the plan with you, just want to see what you would plan if we
let you go wild. I’m always interested to see what my employees can come
up with when they are given the chance.”

Tony leaned back in his chair and smiled softly as Pepper sighed
heavily. “It’s simply an offer, something to help you feel more
comfortable, we have been told many of our interviewees like the feel of
being able to plan something out before they talk with us so we can see
what they can do before we ask them whatever we want to and it allows
us to see how they might work. This will be all your work, all your
tech, maybe something you can build here in the future should we find
you an ideal candidate.”

Tony was impressed the guy wanted to check, wanted to make sure his
work wouldn’t be stolen. “This guy has a good head on his shoulders too~
I’m impressed right now.” He chuckled softly and smirked a little as he
looked over the other.

The compliment took Carlos by surprise and before he cracked
a little smile without really thinking about it.

“I just know what happened between Edison and Tesla,” he
quipped; this was a more natural response from him.

But he then cleared his throat, a bit awkwardly. “So… Um,
yeah. I can absolutely do a quick mock for you both to look at. How… how long would
you allow me to work on it?” It would be nice to finally get the idea on paper
so that he had something to add to while he thought about it instead of keeping
mental tabs on it all. He never got the chance to sit down with the idea at
home because he was supposed to be applying for jobs and interviewing.

Tony smiled seeing the man relax a little and it seemed to be easier to talk with him now. He took a moment and watched him before nodding.

“A quick mock would be brilliant. just want to see how you work and see if we can get things sorted to work how you do. We like to meet everyone’s needs here not just those who are easy to work with.” He smiled kindly and ran a hand through his hair. “Let’s say we’ll give you an hour? We can ask you questions while you’re sketching it out to make it easier and then maybe as you to present us what you drew explaining how it would work and why we should make it.”

That meant Carlos would have to think about what to say when presenting. A little bit more on-his-feet-thinking than he was prepared for, but if that was a sort of thing that Stark was looking for then he had to do his best certainly. He decided that he was going to shorthand notes on the blueprint so that when he looked at them he could make connections more quickly while explaining it.

Though… an hour wasn’t a long time for blueprinting at all. But Carlos could make it work. Stark and Potts were pretty busy people, so they must have somewhere to be after this. “That sounds doable, Mr Stark,” Carlos said.

He set his document folder down on the table next to the blueprint paper before finally sitting down in the chair in front of it. He watched Mr Stark and Ms Potts. “So to be clear… we’re doing some of the interview questions while I’m working on this?”

dont-do-anything-i-would-do

Tony
shook his head before he looked over to the other. He tilted his head
at the question and smiled sweetly. “Would be all yours, it’s blank,
outsourced paper so our logo isn’t on it anywhere, even under UV, you
can take the plan with you, just want to see what you would plan if we
let you go wild. I’m always interested to see what my employees can come
up with when they are given the chance.”

Tony leaned back in his chair and smiled softly as Pepper sighed
heavily. “It’s simply an offer, something to help you feel more
comfortable, we have been told many of our interviewees like the feel of
being able to plan something out before they talk with us so we can see
what they can do before we ask them whatever we want to and it allows
us to see how they might work. This will be all your work, all your
tech, maybe something you can build here in the future should we find
you an ideal candidate.”

Tony was impressed the guy wanted to check, wanted to make sure his
work wouldn’t be stolen. “This guy has a good head on his shoulders too~
I’m impressed right now.” He chuckled softly and smirked a little as he
looked over the other.

The compliment took Carlos by surprise and before he cracked
a little smile without really thinking about it.

“I just know what happened between Edison and Tesla,” he
quipped; this was a more natural response from him.

But he then cleared his throat, a bit awkwardly. “So… Um,
yeah. I can absolutely do a quick mock for you both to look at. How… how long would
you allow me to work on it?” It would be nice to finally get the idea on paper
so that he had something to add to while he thought about it instead of keeping
mental tabs on it all. He never got the chance to sit down with the idea at
home because he was supposed to be applying for jobs and interviewing.

dont-do-anything-i-would-do:

the-perfect-scientist:

dont-do-anything-i-would-do

Tony
had seen what the guy could do, had seen what could be possible with
him, but they had yet to actually see him. He had tried to be careful
with ex-hammertech but this guy seemed genuine and he was willing to
give him a chance after everything that had happened.

When he had gotten to the office he relaxed in a corner while Pepper
took her seat at the head of the table. He wondered just what might
happen, what the guy was like, whether he hated Tony or not, he didn’t
know what to expect and he just hoped that he could get through the
other about what to expect.

When he saw him walk in and stared at the suit and tilted his head a
little. It was bold, different, a little strange, but not everyone had
what he had and he knew that. He stood and nodded to the man offering
him his hand to shake as he introduced himself playfully.

“Stark, Tony Stark, the Tony Stark, but I’m sure you know
that. Interesting outfit, certainly makes you stand out from the crowd.”
He wasn’t trying to be mean he was just trying to make a lighter
atmosphere for the guy.

Carlos winced very slightly at the mention of his attire. Damnit. He should have rented something
black – finances be damned.

“Uh, well… um, blue and red are my favorite colors,” he
stated lamely. Normally he would have just taken the comment in stride and
would just have been more proud of his suit, but he was just too damn nervous.

“Um, Carlos Ramon,” he then said, reaching to gingerly shake
Mr Stark’s hand. Carlos then looked to Ms Potts and offered his hand to her as
well. “And you must be Ms Potts. Good-good evening.”

Carlos felt so of it. It was like a weird dream and any
moment now he could float away straight out the window – he was actually looking Stark and Potts in the
faces and he’d shaken Mr Stark’s hand. For a bit, he felt like he was in an
alternate universe where Hammer Industries never existed. Except of course he
was still wearing his stupid suit. His free hand was gripped tight onto his
documents’ case to the point of near-pain.

Tony noticed the wince and sighed softly. “Never said it looked bad on you, just different, we want different here. Without different we don’t have the tech we have do we?” He smiled softly and laughed as he firmly shook his hand. 

Pepper smiled softly to him and shook his hand gently. “Ignore him, he has no filter, whatever goes on in his brain comes out of his mouth. Sometimes it’s good, means he’s willing to try anything he thinks of, but doesn’t always make him a great people person. Trust me, he wasn’t saying it to be mean or nasty to you, just a little too honest, but you’ll get used to it.”

Tony rolled his eyes at her comment and shook his head. “Anyway, onto the bit we have to do cause we can’t show favouritism. I looked over your CV and everything and I have to say you have some interesting credentials. I don’t take it personal you went to Hammer, but the guy always has a way of bringing the best in and ruining their chances. I thought it fair to at least see what you might do. Not gonna judge cause of your boss, the guy is an ass but his staff? They’re being dragged down for no reason, well…most are.”

He had a blank blueprint in front of him with some plain paper next to it and some stationary to draw with. “You wanna show me what goes on in that head? I’m sure Hammer had it stifled. Whatever you think of sketch it out for me. Take as long as you need.”

Carlos listened to Ms Potts speak, and just nodded along
with her. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. He’ll ‘get used to it’; Carlos wondered if
that meant there was a chance of him
getting work with them, or if she just said that to everyone.

He looked to Stark and tried to keep some of the skepticism
he felt from his face. He had to appear a little confident, or at least
understanding of Stark’s stance; though Carlos found it hard to believe that
someone would be capable of an unbiased stance when it concerns a point where
their life was on the line. He kept quiet though and nodded to indicate
understanding.

However, the blueprinting exercise threw Carlos a bit – he hadn’t
expected it. He had an idea of what to show Stark already – a sort of mental
pet project he’d been thinking about for a long while. But there were things to
ask first…

“Uh, before I begin, Mr Stark… can I ask what happens to the
blueprint I produce? And… er, I really don’t mean to sound, um… suspicious, I
guess, but… where would the usage rights lie of this particular print?”

dont-do-anything-i-would-do

Tony
had seen what the guy could do, had seen what could be possible with
him, but they had yet to actually see him. He had tried to be careful
with ex-hammertech but this guy seemed genuine and he was willing to
give him a chance after everything that had happened.

When he had gotten to the office he relaxed in a corner while Pepper
took her seat at the head of the table. He wondered just what might
happen, what the guy was like, whether he hated Tony or not, he didn’t
know what to expect and he just hoped that he could get through the
other about what to expect.

When he saw him walk in and stared at the suit and tilted his head a
little. It was bold, different, a little strange, but not everyone had
what he had and he knew that. He stood and nodded to the man offering
him his hand to shake as he introduced himself playfully.

“Stark, Tony Stark, the Tony Stark, but I’m sure you know
that. Interesting outfit, certainly makes you stand out from the crowd.”
He wasn’t trying to be mean he was just trying to make a lighter
atmosphere for the guy.

Carlos winced very slightly at the mention of his attire. Damnit. He should have rented something
black – finances be damned.

“Uh, well… um, blue and red are my favorite colors,” he
stated lamely. Normally he would have just taken the comment in stride and
would just have been more proud of his suit, but he was just too damn nervous.

“Um, Carlos Ramon,” he then said, reaching to gingerly shake
Mr Stark’s hand. Carlos then looked to Ms Potts and offered his hand to her as
well. “And you must be Ms Potts. Good-good evening.”

Carlos felt so of it. It was like a weird dream and any
moment now he could float away straight out the window – he was actually looking Stark and Potts in the
faces and he’d shaken Mr Stark’s hand. For a bit, he felt like he was in an
alternate universe where Hammer Industries never existed. Except of course he
was still wearing his stupid suit. His free hand was gripped tight onto his
documents’ case to the point of near-pain.