12477/The Breakup (pt 2): Anger

The Breakup (pt 2): Anger
Date of Scene:	17 August 2022
Location:	Stark Tower: Penthouse
Synopsis:	Hearing the news about Janet, Pepper returns from China as fast as she can. She and Tony invite Janet to the Stark Tower penthouse. Janet ends up screaming her rage into the night sky over New York, and for it finds a small measure of peace.
Cast of Characters:	Pepper Potts, Tony Stark, Janet van Dyne

---

Pepper Potts has posed:
Time away isn't always time well spent in all cases. For business travel, yes; at the end, that moment when the important details are not only ironed out but codified. For personal, however?

Not so much. Particularly when one's best friend's personal life has come crashing down around her ankles, and Pepper is literally a thousand miles away. And, phone connection is spotty and sparse at best.

Now home, Pepper is dressed down in the Penthouse, barefoot and in comfortable clothes, her hair down and around her shoulders as she paces the large living area, phone in her hands, thumbs typing away on the keyboard. Concern is apparent upon her face, and with each seeming 'send' of a message, there's a sigh that escapes.

Tony Stark has posed:
"I'm sure she'll be fine," offers Tony as he leans back against the island, a half eaten apple in his hand. "I mean, come on, it's not like he's irreplaceable." Tony takes another bite of the apple, a satisfying crunch. "I mean, come on, there's plenty of guys just like him out there. She's an /Avenger/. If she really wants to she wouldn't last a week on the open market." He takes a final bite and then tosses the apple towards the waste basket, a shot destined to fall a bit to the side. Until the waste basket moves to the left and catches the core. "Good job, Trashy."

Tony pushes off the island and walks over to were Pepper is pacing and intercepts her path to lean over and kiss her forehead. "Seriously, Pepper, let her be. We all process things our own way." He shrugs. "I mean, you'd know where to find me if you ever broke up with me, right?"

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper shakes her head, and in the middle of typing, a hand leaves to tuck hair behind an ear before it's put back into service for typing. It looks as if she's reaching a number of recipients, and it's a better than even guess that she is. There are so many fires to be put out, so much smoke to be blown away, and part of the conversations are with her PR teams. The splashy and trashy tabloids have already smelled blood in the water, and it's time to put the sharks in cages before it gets too out of hand.

Sadly, knowing Janet however, it's much easier said than done. Even for Pepper.

Looking up at the toss across the room, the sigh that is meant for her messaging is leveled at the throw, though she does bob her head in acknowledgment. Another little robot, though the poor little roombah-bot that followed its trajectory seems automatedly disappointed, showing it with a soft whistle.

The kiss that is given, planted on her forehead gains one of those ghosted smiles as she returns, brows rising, "Do you really want me to answer that?" There are so many responses to that. After all, Tony is predictable, up to a point. It depends where in his cycle he is at the moment.

Janet van Dyne has posed:
There's a little warning before a helicopter buzzes Stark Tower. It's a private helicopter, unmarked; it's transmitting the right IFF codes, but someone's playing with the spotlight and flashing it at the penthouse like a strobe light. This late in the evening, it's a little disorienting.

A few seconds later, the door slides open, and a woman waves once before just-- jumping out of it! Between eyeblinks, she disappears from view, and someone in the chopper pulls the door shut and heads up to park it on the helipad.

The woman abruptly appears on the walkway just outside the penthouse. It's Janet van Dyne, of course, and she walks over to the door with a total lack of self-consciousness. Once admitted inside, she beams at Pepper and Tony from behind dark designer sunglasses. A pearl-tone vest with a fur ruff is paired with a black, backless tie-back top, miniskirt of gold against moss green, and black thigh-high stiletto boots. Janet's either recently back from, or on her way to, some sort of party.

"Hey guuuuys!" Janet sings, and holds up two bottles. "I got a bottle of this Rothschild Bordeaux my sommeliere recommended, and I stole some of Thor's mead. It is party time, we are at -full- go," she declares, and drops them both on the countertop with a bit of a clatter.

Tony Stark has posed:
"See, JANET gets me!" replies Tony, waving his hands demonstratively in the air as he walks over towards the new arrival. "Hey babe," he says, leaning in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek in greeting. "Thanks for bringing the party." He pauses. "And the wine." He adds a wink for good measure, and is already moving to collect some wine glasses.

Tony Stark, enabler.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Now there's an entrance that only The Wasp can make. Jumping out of an aircraft and disappearing, or seemingly disappearing, only to land and re.. constitute? into a person.

Pepper looks up and outside the large plate-glass wall at the lights of the helicopter's approach. Brows rise and as Janet appears, then disappears, and reappears once gain, her lips press into a fine line of bemusement. Her friend's approach has Pepper closing down at least one chat window as she 'shuts' her phone down with a *click* before closing the distance to her friend.

"Janet," is given warmly, if not with more than a little concern. "I'm glad.." and there is the booze! "You look great," has Pepper changing tack, and as Tony approaches to greet and veers off for the glasses, she watches him come and go before approaching for her own greeting. Tony's announcement of Janet 'getting' him has her exhaling in a softly chuffed breath before she continues,

"Perfect," she'll give her friend the Rothschild, anyway.. "And," the words come slowly, "How on earth did you get Thor to give you some of the mead?"

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"Give?" Even behind the sunglasses, the question seems to baffle Janet. She rises the last half-inch her heels don't afford her and exchanges cheek-kisses with Tony, and then palms his face away with a giggle. "Isn't there something in the bro code about snaking newly single ex-girlfriends?"

She moves to hug Pepper then, and while Tony's putting the drinks up, there is a moment-- not that she'd let Tony see it-- where Janet rests her head against Pepper's temple and leans against her. For a moment, the brassy demeanour evaporates and Pepper can tell how fragile Janet really is.

Then it's gone, and she straightens up and beams at Pepper. "Okay, be honest. The hair. Tell me you love it," she says, and flicks her fingers through it. The near-shoulder length 'do is gone, and she's gone back to her iconic pixie cut. But her tips sport a brilliant yellow dye, expertly layered into her natural brown hair color. She turns in place a few times, striking a model's pose while she lets Pepper inspect it.

Tony Stark has posed:
"Oh I'd have far more to worry about than the bro code if I did that, for sure." Tony slips away from Janet and moves to retrieve the glasses. He does glance over towards her and Pepper, although not quickly enough to catch the head lean. He watches the rest of it, and he nods slowly in appreciation. "I mean, I think it looks great, but no one ever cares about my opinion."

When Janet is looking away, Tony mouths to Pepper, slowly and clearly, 'Want me to leave?' and points questioning in the direction of the stairs down to his lab. Then he is walking back over with three wine glasses in hand.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Yes, give." Pepper knows the answer even without receiving one, and she just chuckles and shakes her head.

It's in that quick hug, the briefest of moments when all things give way that Pepper can see, can feel, her friend's pain. There's a soft breath exchanged, one meant to be calming, caring, and she gives her friend a kiss on the cheek, a press before Janet finds those shields again, the facade that allows her to function. She completely understands and has been in those moments of heartache and heartbreak before, though she handled them slightly differently.

Ahem.

"The hair is amazing," Pepper takes a step back and pulls in both Tony and Janet into the conversation. "It is absolutely perfect. What do you think about giving your models the same sort of cut on the runway at Milan next spring?" Business and fashion; Janet is nothing if not a fashionista coupled with a very savvy businesswoman.

Tony's question as the glasses come has Pepper shaking her head. He needs to stay.

"Everyone cares about your opinion, Tony. If you said you liked chardonnay over riesling, it would be covered in every wine magazine for the next year." Pepper offers a smile in Tony's direction before rolling her eyes, and looking back to Janet, following it with, "I've ordered dinner from the chef downstairs, he'd agreed to be on call for us this evening. And," the redhead gestures towards the large hot tub that sits out on the balcony, overlooking the City. The Empire State building is lovely tonight, dressed in white lights.. "if you'd like, I'm certain we can find something suitable." To wear, that is? Or.. what is the etiquette for private hottubs?

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet kisses Pepper's cheek in return and flashes a small, grateful smile at the redhead. They're nominally of the same height but Janet's boots give her a bump over her friend.

"A hot tub sounds amazing. You missed out on the spa trip yesterday," Janet tells Pepper, and hooks their elbows together to start walking that way. She even makes sure Tony's not lost in their wake. "But I forgive you. Just--" she pauses, reflecting Pepper in her glasses, then Tony. "Um... just do me a favor, I'm not-- I don't wanna talk about... You-Know-Who," she requests, her voice going a little low and fragile. "...Please."

Tony Stark has posed:
"Voldemort? Pretty sure we took care of him in the last movie." Tony winks at Janet, and his voice shifts into the tone often unheard by anyone other than Pepper. "You're with friends, Janet. We've got your back. Ok?" He trails along after them, seeing to the alcohol and the glasses as he goes.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"I know, and I'm sorry. I was finishing up negotiations in China for one of our subsidiaries." Which was a great deal harder than Pepper is letting on. Still, she carries a lot of weight behind her, and while difficult, it wasn't an impossible task. "You know I would have not only been there, but been there." On the outset, as a driving force and a self-proclaimed guard and guardian.

Those Pepper loves, she is fiercely protective over.

Pepper nods her acknowledgment; there was not going to be discussion of //him// tonight. It's an unspoken thing amongst girls; no throwing shade, no bringing it up. "Tonight, tonight is about us. And you. And possibly Milan and Paris."

Pepper links arms with Janet, glancing back for Tony. She's so proud of him! And, good ol' Dum-E is on the move, long, large spa towels draped over his single arm as the ladies begin to make their way out to the balcony.

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"Thanks. Thanks," Janet says, including Tony in the second expression. "I'll... well. I'm good," she lies, putting on one of her plastic smiles. "What I need is some friends and some mind-altering substances. My plan is to stay as absolutely smashed as possible and hope all my bullshit resolves itself by the time I sober up." She looks around, then walks over to the door to the bedroom of the suite and looks inside.

"Okay, gonna change, bee-arr-bee," Janet tells the two of them. She doesn't seem to have any compunction about just... walking in. So at least that hasn't changed.

Tony Stark has posed:
As Janet heads towards the bedroom, Tony quickly mutters, "JARVIS, de-vita protocol, stat." Then he turns to look at Pepper and smile. There are little bits of motion around the room, and then every photo in the suite that included the Avengers has been swapped out for just Tony and Pepper. "So, uh. We should probably prepare the guest room, yeah?" He looks around and then back to Pepper. "You've got this, honey. This is all you. I'm just extra moral support." He leans over and kisses Pepper briefly before setting the wineglasses on the table next to the hot tub.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper nods her head in agreement and acknowledgement again. A woman of few words, apparently! "I totally understand. JARVIS is already holding calls," just in case Janet was wondering. It's helpful having an AI!

She watches Janet as she goes into the bedroom to change, and as the door closes behind her, Pepper turns around to Tony, her expression showing her concern. "I'm worried. I mean, I know she'll be okay eventually, but this is so hard for her." She nods quickly, "I think the guest room is a good idea. Give her a chance to get away from everything, if only for the time being." The Penthouse is much nicer than a hotel! She leans in to press a kiss on Tony's cheek, "You're doing great. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that .. he might need a friend later, too." Hint. Hint.

When Janet is done, eventually, it'll be Pepper's turn to change!

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet opens the door and startles with surprise when Pepper's just... waiting there. "... you can *not* be -that- shy," Janet tells Pepper with a wry amusement. The party outfit's been exchange for a two-piece bikini in gold and black, with a halter-style top and matching briefs. She's still got the sunglasses on. "Didn't you take PE in high school?"

Janet brushes past Pepper and hipchecks her on the way out, closing her little makeup compact full of miniaturized outfits and tucking it into her clutch.

She heads out onto the balcony again, tossing her clutch aside and stopping to kick off the wedged sandals she'd changed into. The sociate sits on the edge of the tub, swings her legs over, and gingerly slips into it. There ar a few moments where she hisses at the temperature differential, but once she convinces her nerves that she isn't being boiled alive, she slips all the way into the water and lets loose a profound sigh of relaxation.

Tony Stark has posed:
Sighing as Tony looks around, he shakes his head. "He's got plenty higher on the list, Pep." He turns and looks into her eyes. "Look, you know how I am, and what I am. Other than you and Happy, and even Happy is debateable, who really connects with me?" He leans over to give her a brief kiss. "And I still don't even know how you do it." He heads over towards the guest room. "Let me make sure this is all squared away, and I'll get changed too and meet you both in the hot tub."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"I was horrible in gym," Pepper laughs at her friend's departure from the room. "Was always the last one picked. It's why I never did school sports." She rode horses, far and away from the eyes of her classmates. But it also is the reason for her posture and her ability to take on a room. If one can control a thousand pound animal, everything else is child's play!

Pepper offers a grin to her friend and slides into the room, only to emerge with a light blue bikini. She's just as comfortable in it as any of her business suits or jeans a t-shirt. A quick glance and a smile is given to Tony, and her voice lowers to a whisper, "You used to be close, once," Pepper reminds him. "How I do it?" Her expression is fond, and she nods quickly, her tones softly teasing under the kiss, "Not sure."

She'll pass him now, on her way padding towards the balcony; a decided invitation that he should absolutely join them.

Once out on the balcony, she's moving the glasses closer, the ones Tony'd delivered before, and there Dum-E stands with the towels. One foot is dipped in, the second; she's used to it, after all, and soon enough, she's sinking under the top of the water, only to emerge soon after, her long hair cascading behind her.

"Oh, definitely needed after the flight home." Settling into a spot, Pepper grins in anticipation, "Tell me about what I missed yesterday at the spa. Where did you go."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"Well--" Janet lifts her left hand, counting on her fingers from pinkie to index. "Lois rushed over and I forgot she's got one of the emergency keys, so she interrupted a really good sulk I was having," Janet explains. "Uh, and my assistant Arthur was upstate because I figured he needed to be away from New York, 'cause he ICER'd St-- you know who," she amends, and takes a steadying breath. "So Lois bullied my second assistant Claire, Claire completely folded, and then my own security hauled me down to my Rolls and tossed me in like a bag of potatoes."

"Then we got to the spa, and I called Diana up and told her to fly her ass over, and then I had to get Peggy too so I sent a helicopter to her house, made up some BS about national security, and she just like, jumped *right* on board." Janet pauses. "She might not be the best spy," the socialite suggests.

"And then we got in the mud room, got massages and facials, and I cried like a heartbroken teenager off and on. Oh and then Diana was like, 'Peggy, we should take you to Themyscira for the delivery', and, y'know, that's great, because what I really need is to go hang out with a thousand flawless women warriors and watch one of my best friends pop a baby out and have her fairy-tale life."

She stops, and her hand and her eyes drop into the water. There's a pensive pause and shoulders slump weakly. "...Fuck me, I *am* a bitch," she declares with a groan. She slumps backwards to *thud* her head against the rim of the hot tub, staring listlessly up at the dim stars overhead.

She reaches blindly for the wine glass, grabs one at random, and starts gulping it down alarmingly quickly.

Tony Stark has posed:
Emerging from guest room, Tony makes his way over towards the hot tub. He listens as Janet regales Pepper with her girls night, and then pauses towards the end. He watches her reaction, and her statement, and then looks at Pepper with a bit of an askance expression.

Tony Stark is many things, and is the master of many academic subjects. But psychology is not one of them, and really aside from Pepper, when confronted with any sort of emotional need, his response is usually to...put Pepper in front of it. Except she already is, and she is the /best/ person for that job. He reaches into his pocket and taps briefly before holding up a phone to Pepper's view, but not Janet's: GUEST ROOM ALL FINE. YOU'RE RIGHT. WILL TRY TO FIND HIM.

Tony waits for Pepper's brief acknowledgement, and then retreat back towards the basement lab. Is he actually going anywhere to find anyone? No. But he does not want to make the situation worse, and so he withdraws.

This is Pepper's superpower, and he leaves her to it.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper is in her spot in the tub, and as Janet begins to talk, she reaches for one of the glasses as well. The words begin to move quicker and quicker as she regales, and as it comes to a head, Pepper can almost //feel// what is coming- the crescendo, and then the drop.

And there it is.

The phone is set up so she can see it, the message from Tony, and she nods quickly. She knows him, knows his comfort levels, and she's very sympathetic to his needs. It's not a time to push, but rather, she watches him depart to the workshop. His own little haven.

It's back to Janet, however, and Pepper shifts her spot so she's sitting side by side instead of opposite her friend. "You are not a bitch," sounds a definite tone. "Not right now, anyway.." rises as a gentle tease. "It's completely and totally understandable. They are.. amazing. You are amazing. Just differently. You have access to friends people could only dream about." Including herself. Pepper can count her friends on a couple of fingers, which is fine for her. She chuffs a soft breath, and it sounds a laugh as she reaches to take Janet's hand and winds her fingers through her friend's. "You never let comparisons define you, and you never let anyone overshadow you. I can't see where you'd start that now." Still? "Sometimes it's nice, though, to enjoy someone else's happiness."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet sniffles and rubs at her nose with the back of her wrist, then tries to reach under her glasses to brush some tears away. After a few frustrating moments she growls and whips the glasses off, tossing the five-hundred dollar designer shades to go skittering across the balcony. Her eyes are red rimmed and puffy, like from a few days of some pretty heavy crying, and she's given up on mascara and eyeliner for the time being.

In perhaps a small mercy, she's too self-absorbed to notice Tony's quiet withdrawal, letting him slink off without any guilty farewells.

"Pep, I don't have friends, I have people I bully and yell at and... arson at," she says. Her fingers curl reflexively into Pepper's and she leans her shoulder against the redhead's, staring at the burbling surface of the water. "I mean for god's sake, Emma said something shitty about my shoes over the hols and I snaked the boy she'd been working herself up to make a move on."

A foot kicks at the water, then again, anger marring her expression. "Jesus fuck, everything I did for that man," Janet snarls. "The first-- I came back to the Mansion in December, and all I could think about was him. I didn't go out with anyone else. I didn't get laid for *five months*, waiting for his candy ass to decide to take the plunge. I rearranged my life around him. I bought-- I gave him anything and everything I thought he could possibly want." She stands up in the tub, water sluicing down her toned frame, and grabs the third wineglass to down it with a few gulps. She looks at it when she realizes it's empty, and that just seems to be the last straw.

"....aaaaARRGHAAAAH!" she shrieks, and throws the wineglass off the balcony. In her other hand she primes a curling ball of bioplasma and throws it at the crystal. They collide and bloom with a loud report, the shattered glass reflecting the glowing green energy.

Janet watches the shards fall until they're out of sight, destined to land on one of the sub-level roofs below.

"Four years," she says, softly, and sits down heavily on the edge of the tub. "Four years. I thought...." she looks at her hands. "I thought he was gonna propose. Not.... immediately, but... I mean, it's Steve," she says, almost whispering. "I always thought he wanted the white picket fences and... and I don't know. Kids." She reaches for her necklace, forgetting it's gone, and her shoulders drop. "I don't know," she repeats.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper squeezes Janet's hand as her friend rests against her briefly; it's the beginning of the end in terms of composure, but that's okay. With the skittering of the glasses, the cleaning robot finds its way out of the living room, and with a quiet *thrum* it's headed to where the glasses came to rest. With a soft whistle of discovery, the wheels start their rolling back towards the hot rub.

Robot fetch?

It's really of no matter, however, and the little thing isn't noticed for the larger picture. Pepper is letting Janet have her yell at the universe at large. It's not a conversation, not now, and for some things, not ever. But this? It's primal, it's filled with anguish, pain, and Pepper's job is what she does best.

Be there. She's got a great deal of practice in it.

To look at the glass shattered into shards, the green and the white of the city in the night, it's pretty, even in the face of fury. Green eyes watch the glass fall, raining down to one of the lower levels.

"You have friends," Pepper begins softly. "Those who came out yesterday didn't do it because you bullied them. Every single one of them could have said 'Nope, not going'. They all got together and decided that you shouldn't be left alone. That you needed the company of people who cared." Which makes Pepper a touch more guilty that she //hadn't// been there. Still, so many 'powerful' friends, this setting is much better. "So don't push them away, thinking that they're not friends and that they don't care." It's a quiet suggestion, or rather, perhaps an underlying warning that it could happen.

As for all that she'd done, all that she'd shared, all that she wanted for him, for them? How does one answer that?

Pepper watches her friend again quietly, her expression certainly one of concern, and sympathy. Her heart is breaking for her friend, and there's no way around it. Hearts will break, and they will heal.

"Four years is a long time," Pepper softly agrees, "I'm not going to give you the lines of 'It's for the best' or 'You can do better'. They don't mean anything. What I will say is that it'll get better, it'll get easier.. and when you're ready, someone will walk through those doors you reopen."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet rests her elbows on her knees and tucks her hands behind her head, curling into the smallest ball she can with her perch on the tub next to Pepper's shoulder. She's trying to hang onto the anger as long as she can; it burns in her belly. It feels good. She can feed all the pain, the guilt and shame into that fire. Maybe forever. Janet's temper is perhaps her worst trait, and the idea of the woman committing herself fully to that howling rage is a terrifying one.

But Pepper soothes her; with soft touches and gentle words, and inch by inch Janet's muscles unclench. Finally she lifts her head. Elbows folded across her knees, she looks over at Pepper, and smiles. A little wan, a little shaken, but... calm.

"You're pretty good at those speeches," she says, finally. "You should do them more often." Janet looks back at the water, then puts her hands on her knees and stands before carefully stepping down from the tub. DUM-E offers her a towel and she blots herself down before wrapping it around her chest.

"I'm taking this," Janet informs Pepper, and lifts the ancient bottle of mead. "I owe you for the party foul. I'll... see you in the morning," she offers. One last flickering smile, and Janet turns her shoulders to head towards the guest bed made up for her.