13035/Is That Enough Ghosts

Is That Enough Ghosts
Date of Scene:	11 October 2022
Location:	Avengers Mansion - First Floor
Synopsis:	Pepper and Happy come to Avengers Mansions with Halloween decorations. Steve Rogers is enlisted by someone to help put them up.
Cast of Characters:	Pepper Potts, Steve Rogers

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Pepper Potts has posed:
It's October. Decorations for the month actually hit the stores back in August, but who wants to buy that far in advance? Well, there are a few.

Pepper Potts, for one.

The weather is cooling off, the trees are starting to turn their particular vibrant colors. The rains have ceased, leaving behind sunny days and crisp evenings. Perfect for decorating, as far as the redhead is concerned!

Pepper's stepped from the sedan driven by the ever present Happy Hogan, and it's taken a few trips by poor Happy in order to get all the decorations into the foyer of the Mansion. Leaning against the wall, there are full-sized skeletons, witches, spooky candelabras with LED candles for lighting, and lots and lots of wall hangings. Off to the side, there are at least 20 large orange fresh pumpkins, each with a carving kit and a candle set for the residents should they want to make their own personal jack-o-lanterns.

Pepper is dressed down, though she does still look quite elegant. Her hair is pulled up into a pony tail, but it's a touch messier than when at work. She's in jeans, a button down shirt with a loose, long cabled sweater over the top. She's sporting a pair of blue leather oxfords with shirt socks; looking every inch chic-casual.

Standing in the foyer, just inside the front door, Pepper is looking appraisingly at the entryway, the wheels of decoration obviously turning in her head.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Up in his room, Steve's phone chimes. He lets out a soft sigh, definitely not having taken up the current generation's love of phones. Heck, it's probably the whole world by now. Being able to call someone is nice, but there's the sense of not being able to get away from them.

He picks it up and checks the message though. "Hrm," he murmurs and then sends a brief message back. Stowing the phone in his back pocket, Steve pulls on some boots and heads out of his room and down the stairs.

He's wearing jeans, and a long sleeve knit shirt that is perfect for the cooler weather. Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, he sees Pepper and the huge assortment of decorations. "Pepper," Steve says, his face breaking out in a smile for the woman as he walks over. "I just got a text from Tony asking if I'd come up with setting up decorations," he says. He rubs his hands together and gazes at the boxes. "And there's a -lot- of it," he says, chuckling.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper's lips are set to the side in consideration, her head tilted as she eyes the measurements and mentally cross-checks them with the goodies she's brought with her. The footfalls down the stairs gains her attention, and it's a very slight turn of her head that gives her the identification. Immediately a warm, genuine smile creases her face as spies him, and she can't help an immediate laugh, though it's most definitely unapologetic. "Yes, there is a lot of it. It's a mansion, after all. And, let's face it. It's filled with people who are children at heart." She does live with one of the biggest kids, after all.

"Tony had said that he'd.." The moment she begins to say those words, there's an amused, fond frown as she checks her phone. "No." Pepper sighs in a chuffed, audible sigh. "Right. He said I wouldn't be doing it alone. Silly me, I thought he'd be here."

Now, Pepper has the grace to look apologetic. "Tony texted you, didn't he." It's not a question. It doesn't need to be.

Steve Rogers has posed:
As Pepper tells him what Tony's text to her was, Steve's expression becomes one of revelation. "Ahhh..." he says, shaking his head and giving a wry chuckle. "Well, he didn't lie, did he?" he asks, still shaking his head as he goes over to one of the boxes.

He opens up the top, checking the decorations inside. "Lots of ghosts. Think there's enough?" he says as he pulls one out to look at it. "So do you have some sort of... plan in mind on what goes where? Or just winging it?" he asks her.

"Decorations today are so much more fancy. We just had what people made themselves. Hand me downs. Though Halloween was not nearly such a big deal. More a matter of kids being hooligans. The trick or treating must have become a thing sometime after," he says.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper's amused laugh turns to a most definitely affectionate smirk, "He is getting sneakier." Shaking her head, she exhales, letting it go; it's probably how and why she's managed to survive all these years. At least, it's becoming her mantra now.

"Well, I'm happy to have your help," the redhead begins again, "It's been too long." And she certainly hasn't seen him since THE BREAKUP. (Which won't be mentioned. Really.)

"And before you asked, the Tower is already decorated. The lights won't go on until the 30th, and I think I should call Phil," The general manager for the Empire State Building, "and warn him." Pepper's not looking too terribly concerned, really, and before she can continue, there's a voice,

<<I have taken the liberty to set that in your schedule tomorrow for 10 am, Ms Potts.>> It's JARVIS, of course. And, again, of course he knows her schedule.

Pepper laughs and nods; she's so very used to the voice that seems to come from everywhere, so she no longer looks //up// to answer him, "Thank you, JARVIS."

Green eyes turn to Steve, and the smile remains, "There are lots of ghosts. I tried to get one for everyone. So, after it's all done, they can put them in their closet. Skeletons, too." The joke may pass over the heads of some, but..

Twisting around, Pepper points to yet another pile of //stuff//. "Oh! And I bought pumpkins for carving for later." Without missing a beat, she looks to Happy, who is finally done bringing ALL the stuff in. "Can you..."

"Yes, Ms Potts.." Happy certainly sounds a little porting-weary, but he takes a couple of pumpkins under the arms and starts to move them into the kitchen. This gives Pepper the chance to turn her attention back around to Steve. "We also have supplies for crafts to make little ghosts and little pumpkins to clothespin them onto a line to hang across."

Steve Rogers has posed:
"Well," Steve tells Pepper, "You probably weren't wrong about the people who live here," he finishes. Especially Clint, but then he's always the fun one to pick on. "Glad to help though<" Steve says as he pulls out a few more things and begins to move around, hanging a ghost on the wall here, or setting a pumpkin-themed bowl on a table in the entryway there.

"Phil Coulson?" Steve asks when she mentions Phil. "He still seeing that musician in Arizona?" he asks as he returns to look in the box, pulling out a mobile of bats that is meant to be hung somewhere.

"Hrm. It's the Bat-mobile," he comments of it, before his expression turning to show he knows how bad that was. He goes over to where a light fixture hangs down, giving a slight jump to hook the mobile onto it, then checks his handiwork.

"Not sure who all will be up for carving. Wanda would probably enjoy it. Pietro could probably do all of them before we noticed," he comments. "Speaking of, it's their birthday in two days."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"No, no I didn't think I was wrong," Pepper laughs. "And they should be." After all, they're off saving the world at the drop of a hat. She //knows// they've seen things that even Emergency personnel haven't, which puts them high on the list of 'let them be kids if they want to be'. Another laugh sounds and she nods as she digs into another bag to pull out some of those candelabras to set upon the entry tables. "I think it'd be the perfect opportunity to teach the twins how to do it." If they haven't already, that is.

Brows do rise at the pun, and Pepper does give her friend the courtesy of a chuckle. "Cute. Very cute." She shakes her head as she turns the black and silver painted 'candle' over in order to flip the switch. Suddenly, a little bit of eerie music rises from her spot, and the light flickers, simulating the flame. It's proximity-based, and the moment Pepper sets it on the table top and steps away, the *whoooooooo* sound ends. "That.." she has a laugh in her voice, and she shakes her head, "..is going to get old really quick."

Steve Rogers has posed:
Happy carries in another set of boxes, Steve going over to open the top one. "That has a bunch of lighting," Happy offers. "I didn't know if you wanted to use that or not, Pepper?" he asks. Different light bulbs to replace the normal ones with spookier lighting. "I mean I don't want the Avengers to trip on their way to the Assembly Room because of dim orange lighting," he offers.

Steve just grins slightly and lets Pepper make the call on that. "I might try my hand at a pumpkin, will have to see," he says. "My mother used to make baked pumpkin seeds. And pumpkin pies, this time of year, and for Thanksgiving," he says, pausing and looking away into his memories for a moment, a wistful look on the man's face.

He clears his throat a little as if at whatever emotions were brought up, and turns back, a smile quickly coming back as if to not bring down the moment. "Though I've seen some of the pictures of what people do with them now. I'm glad to just get two eyes and a mouth without messing it up," he jokes.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Absolutely I want orange in there. And, just for Thor, I have.." There's a set of stringed lights that flicker like lightning, and with the grey floof she bought, and some cut-out full moons, it'll be a great display for the long corridor. "This." Pepper's happy to show it off very much like a car commercial 'girl' before laughing. "Then someone will have to explain it. Maybe."

When Steve starts waxing a touch melancholic, the stuff held by Pepper is lowered a little, and there's that sympathetic expression that comes to her eyes. "Hey," Pepper begins softly, "you have //not// come over in a bit to have dinner. You and Tony need to catch up. It's been too long." After all, they'd been best friends, and the connection with Tony's father is ever-present with the presence of Steve. "Tony would like it too." She's certain of that.

She takes a brief, sharp breath in, dispelling the emotion for herself as she perks and seeks to attempt to improve her friend's mood.

"Now. Eyes and a mouth is fine. I can't do it either. And //of course// the most important part is baking the seeds after."

Steve Rogers has posed:
"I'd love to," Steve replies about dinner, smiling to Pepper and seeming to appreciate her thoughtfulness. It wasn't lost on him.

One of Happy's things to tote in was a little step ladder. Steve takes it just as Happy is about to reach for it. "I can take care of those if you want," Steve tells him. Happy looks about to offer a protest he can manage it. "Ok, no need to compete with Captain America is there," he says with a chuckle and turns to do something else.

Steve shakes his head at the comment, chuckling, and sets up the ladder to start changing out the light bulbs. "Just as long as Thor realizes he doesn't need to charge them up with a little lightning," Steve comments of the decoration. "You have no idea how many Mjolnir-sized holes the staff have had to fix over the last few years."

Pepper Potts has posed:
With the acceptance, Pepper nods decisively. "I'll have HOMER set it up with JARVIS." Of course JARVIS knows Steve's schedule, right? That AI is quite good at tracking habits and scheduling. Though, that is a decided play on 'I'll have my girl call your girl', and the redhead follows it up with a quick grin. It's not lost on her!

Happy is dutifully helping, and now that the pumpkins have been moved into the kitchen with their carving knives and candles on the large table, he's back and trying to find a way to be helpful. There is no 'competing' with Captain America, just like there's no competing with Iron Man. He does want to feel useful in this world of supers that he finds himself in, and does it any way he knows how. Instead, he grabs a lifesized ghost and a skeleton and goes out the front door to start work on the outside entry.

Pepper laughs at Steve's quip, "I think he'll enjoy turning them on and off, really. As long as it's set up right." Which Pepper starts to do; she's got the grey floof, and is carefully tagging it onto the wall, taking care not to disturb the pictures already hanging there.

"You know, Tony didn't help with the Tower either. Janet did. We had a whole shopping spree that I think I'm still recovering from." Pepper is recovering? Of course.

"Somehow, we're going to have to get even with him."

Steve Rogers has posed:
"I can believe it. One of Janet's shopping trips is more exertion than a couple of sessions in the Training Room on the highest setting," Steve Rogers comments to Pepper with a quiet chuckle. He finishes the orange light bulb he was doing and then moves to help get the lightning decoration up.

Perhaps its the mention of JARVIS and HOMER that spurs a thought. "I don't suppose you could get JARVIS to make it go off whenever he comes through. Time it so it becomes obvious to him that it somehow recognizes him? But without knowing it's JARVIS doing it?" Steve suggests.

He fastens up the strand of lights, then moves the step ladder to get the next spot. "I hope I don't disappoint you that neither my room nor the apartment in Brooklyn have any Halloween decorations," he tells her. "Though I have been kind of busy, well that's just an excuse, I haven't decorated them in the past either."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper straightens up from her tacking up the cloud, and with the full moon in hand, she gestures with it in hand at him. "That is a great idea," she enthuses with a broad smile. "I think even JARVIS will like the idea." After all, the AI used to have the cleaning bots move the large Asgardian's slippers around the Mansion as a prank. "JA-"

<<Done, ma'am.>> Is that a hint of humor in the lifelike voice? Maybe. Pepper swears that it is, and will always. This AI is her favorite.

She gets back to work setting up the full moon before the lights start getting wound around, setting them around and behind the 'clouds'. "Poor Happy was stuck bringing everything up from the garage." She does pity him, on occasion, but the man is paid handsomely, and will always be taken care of.

"Oh, and I forgot to mention it before. Different Phil, though I think 'our' Phil might not be seeing her anymore. At least he hasn't been going to the symphonies quite so often." So sad. Even the SHIELD Agent deserves someone.

The news about Steve's apartment has Pepper turning to face him in her spot in the corridor, and she just stares at him for a long moment. "Oh Steve," and she shakes her head slowly, exhaling in a sigh. "You really should. It'll make you feel better, and the kids would love it."

Steve Rogers has posed:
"The kids?" Steve repeats. "Are you knowing something about my apartment that I don't?" he asks Pepper with a quiet chuckle. "I don't know, decorating for the holidays isn't the kind of thing I have ever really gotten to. That was more..." he says then trails off rather than mention that would be the kind of thing that Janet would have done to his room.

He turns back to go over to a box and pull out more decorations. "I don't think I've ever asked, where are you from originally, Pepper? Here in New York or somewhere else? And how exactly did you end going to work for Tony?" He lifts out a trio of plush black cats and then glances around for where to put them. "He's fortunate to have you, however it came about."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"The kids that trick or treat, Steve." Duh! Children in the neighborhood. "It's no fun having a place that is dark when everywhere else is.." Pepper slows in her speaking as she sets up the last of the lights and takes a look at her handiwork. As she turns around to look at her friend, her expression falls and she sighs. "I'm sorry, Steve." She shakes her head, and walks back down the hall to put a hand on his arm, "We'll go trick or treating instead?" That'd be fun! The Avengers on a route.. though Pietro will probably cheat.

Pepper takes the string of ghosts and pumpkins to hang them up by the staircase, winding and wending them through the large oak posts that hold up the balastrade. "I am from Connecticut," she begins. "My parents are there, moved to a little town. They sent me to school, and after graduating, came to New York to make my way." Pepper takes the couple of steps back down. "Tony's met them, and mother is both afraid and proud." It doesn't take a genius to know //why//.

"Did you know that Tony was the one who gave me the nickname? My name is //actually// Virginia. 'Ginny', my friends call me." She leans against the main pole of the stairs for a moment, "Those who knew me in school, anyway. I think there's only one left. Amanda. Amanda Sefton." Lips press together and her arms cross in front of her chest. "It stuck."

Once that explanation is done, Pepper pushes off against the balustrade and moves some of the empty bags over to be taken out again. "I think Tony's beginning to realize that." The fond humor couldn't be missed, though when she turns to face Steve once more, there's something there present in those green eyes. "He hasn't been doing anywhere near the sort of partying he used to." Or the womanizing. "I'm not sure if he finally is realizing that he's over 40, or.." She shrugs lightly, not really bothered by either answer that it may bring. Though,

"He does need friends more than ever now, though. I think he may know that too."