Yeah, we've got something like that, Stark. It's this little thing called the marine code, and it says that you don't leave a man behind.
[So clearly if you hate it when people push, the best thing was to push right back.]
[The next words out of Stark's mouth hit Joker like a bullet to the chest, with almost physical force. More than half of it was because it hit so close to the mark that it was hard to believe he wasn't aiming for it.]
[He hadn't been able to do anything during the mission but his job; he'd had to sit there on the line all but begging Vakarian to tell him where he was so he could find him, and ultimately he'd had to follow his orders. He sure as hell hated that he couldn't do more, and there was some part of him that was a little disgusted with himself, that saw the hypocrisy in how willing he'd been to ignore his orders in favor of one person. He hated that flying was the only thing he could do and that it wasn't enough; he hated the helpless feeling that came with knowing that someone was dying on his watch, and more than that hated the fact that it wasn't for the first time.]
[He had already been so angry and frustrated and here was Stark, pushing back and making himself an acceptable target; Joker just wanted to hit something because even if it hurt him more, it was a kind of pain that he'd learned to deal with, unlike the kind that twisted knots in his chest. He could put bones back together; this was something that he couldn't just shove back into place and ignore.]
[Joker's fist was on its way towards Stark's face before he could even register the thought.]
Wow Tony, you're kind of an asshole
[So clearly if you hate it when people push, the best thing was to push right back.]
[The next words out of Stark's mouth hit Joker like a bullet to the chest, with almost physical force. More than half of it was because it hit so close to the mark that it was hard to believe he wasn't aiming for it.]
[He hadn't been able to do anything during the mission but his job; he'd had to sit there on the line all but begging Vakarian to tell him where he was so he could find him, and ultimately he'd had to follow his orders. He sure as hell hated that he couldn't do more, and there was some part of him that was a little disgusted with himself, that saw the hypocrisy in how willing he'd been to ignore his orders in favor of one person. He hated that flying was the only thing he could do and that it wasn't enough; he hated the helpless feeling that came with knowing that someone was dying on his watch, and more than that hated the fact that it wasn't for the first time.]
[He had already been so angry and frustrated and here was Stark, pushing back and making himself an acceptable target; Joker just wanted to hit something because even if it hurt him more, it was a kind of pain that he'd learned to deal with, unlike the kind that twisted knots in his chest. He could put bones back together; this was something that he couldn't just shove back into place and ignore.]
[Joker's fist was on its way towards Stark's face before he could even register the thought.]