Work Text:
Click, whir, buzz.
The sounds of the computer speed up, faster, faster, until-
Safe to insert flash drive.
The British voice answers, echoing the declaration on the screen.
"Safe to insert flash drive, Mr. Stark."
He thinks, as he always is, and he thinks it is good. He is glad. He likes it when things are fast. He is good at fast. He is not good at slow.
He is always moving, always going, faster faster. He is always thinking, more, more. More knowledge. More technology. He needs his hands to move quicker, faster, because if he slows, he'll stop.
Faster, JARVIS, faster.
Faster, Daddy, faster.
Only, daddy wasn't there most of his life. That was one of the reasons why he moved so fast, always moving, always thinking.
If he stopped, he would think about the wrong things. If he stopped, if he went slow, he would remember the bad things. Everything that was his fault. The people who had died because of him.
He moved, he thought. Faster, faster. Always faster. Faster to the next project, faster to the next bottle.
Faster.
Jack Daniels.
Faster.
Mark 43.
Faster.
Scotch.
Faster.
Ultron.
Faster, faster.
Safe to remove flash drive.
"Safe to remove flash drive, Mr. Stark, however I do not recommend this course of action."
He breathes.
Maybe someday he'll be able to slow down.
But not today.
Today?
Faster, faster.