1362/Sherlock Holmes got nothing on Pepper

Sherlock Holmes got nothing on Pepper
Date of Scene:	25 April 2020
Location:	Avengers Mansion - Study
Synopsis:	Okay, maybe Pepper isn't the great detective. More 'be patient'.
Cast of Characters:	Steve Rogers, Pepper Potts

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Steve Rogers has posed:
Even later at night, some sections of the Avengers mansion are still buzzing with activity. At the moment, the study with its plush decor and comfortable chairs is occupied. Two of the chairs house a body and all are close enough to feel the low heat from a small glow set alight within the arched limestone fireplace. Steve brought up coffee and the fixings, all on a tray set to one side. Pepper apparently arrived with eclairs.

Right now, dressed in a plainer blue-plaid button-down overtop a white t-shirt and jeans, Steve has his hands around his mug of black coffee to warm them. It's plain, one of the set sans anything cute or smart-alecky in word or design. He gives his guest an even look and a small, polite smile.

"What can I help you with precisely, Miss Potts?" asks the Captain, transparently and quietly curious as to her true game in being here.

Pepper Potts has posed:
It's taken a lot for Pepper to bring herself here. After all, technically she's been the +1 to the party, and now it feels a little strange being here, having lost that +1, and it shows in her posture, her manner and mien. Her strawberry-blond hair is pulled back into a plain ponytail, bangs pushed a little to the side. She's obviously dressed as if she's come from the office, skirt suit that is smartly tailored in order to present her in the best form and light. Her legs are crossed at the ankles, and she sits up, coffee in hand, bottom of the mug cradled in her off hand. Nothing about this is easy..

After a few words here and there, pleasantries really (Small talk with Captain America?!?), Pepper considers the question, knowing that it was eventually going to come. After all, she came with a purpose.. and she begins, as they say, at the beginning.

"You and Tony are friends." Pepper chuckles and looks at her coffee before, "As much as Tony can //have// a friend, anyway." Green eyes lift, and she pauses, considering her words, "He's ... changed. Since running away last month, and getting married.."

Pepper raises a finger from the mug handle before she sets the warm comfort aside and continues, "He's keeping a secret from me.. and I feel like it's a big one. And maybe he's in trouble, and there isn't anything I can do about it."

Steve Rogers has posed:
As is his wont in situations like this, her host simply observes. His head tilts slightly to the side as unconscious proof of true interest in the situation at hand and his own true-blues remain keenly focused on her face. The manner isn't necessarily intrusive, but it might make his guest aware of how closely he's observing her.

Steve's golden brows lift at the tack of conversation. One finger bounces idly off the mug once, an unconscious tap. "You're wondering if 'm privy to this secret he has?" There's no attempt to be coy, just a clarification on his part.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper lifts her gaze and offers a tightlipped smile and a softly chuffed laugh sounds from her throat. "Yes. Because if he's in trouble, you know he won't say anything because he thinks he can do it on his own."

Pepper shifts in her seat again, her legs turning to the other side, still crossed at the ankles. "We spoke last night, and, well.. he's hiding something. Things he's not saying." She ends up with a resigned shrug gracefully lifting a single shoulder before, "I thought maybe you could shed some light."

Steve Rogers has posed:
Fortifying himself with a deep sip of his black coffee, the man across the way then thins his lips in a thoughtful manner.

"The trait of tackling a problem on one's lonesome seems to be a trend around here." His smile appears again, faint and knowing. "Bear in mind Tony doesn't tell me everything. Man likes his privacy about some things as much as any of us. Best you tell me what he mentioned last night, 'll see if something matches up or jars," Steve offers with a lift of his hand off the coffee mug.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Green eyes narrow and Pepper sits forward a little; oldest ploy in negotiation. See what one knows, just in case more is let out than needed. "Captain Rogers," she starts again, "Even for Tony, it's a little strange for him to run out and get married to someone he didn't know well, regardless of how much he might have drank. It's a little out of character for him, don't you think?" There's one.

"When I told him that I fully expected to let go, he told me to wait until all the information was in. To make my decision after I knew everything." Now is when the honestly genuine confusion enters, "If I don't know, and he won't tell me, what am I supposed to do? Talk to his friends and figure out what is going on with him. To find out if they have the same concern as I do."

That tight smile reappears, and she exhales in a soft, frustrated breath. "I spent years protecting him, trying to be sure that there was something he could come back to. I've lost sleep wondering if he was alive, dead, okay.. and now, when I might be able to do something instead of just wait by the 'homefires', I can't." She gives a deliberate pause before, "And it's no longer my homefires."

Steve Rogers has posed:
It's about the time when Pepper's tight smile reappears that Steve thinks he's figured out precisely what the issue is perceived to be. The man who survived a world war and consequential incidents since doesn't flinch; only the barest hint of emotion shows through his well-mannered expression and it's decidedly a facet of empathy.

"Sounds to me like he's asked you to be patient a little longer 'nd he'll tell you himself. Now, I know Tony well enough to know his life isn't in immediate danger." This much, Steve feels appropriate to reveal, given it's...true in the term 'immediate'. Reality itself is a weird, unpredictable place to live, especially with personas as large and public as the Avengers. "I can also tell you that he's under some stress, but we're all dealing with various amounts of it around here currently." There is a note of apology in that he can't reveal much of the Avengers' current concerns, given their own secret necessity.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Anything she can use, anything she can hang on, Pepper would, she really would. But, there isn't much forthcoming, other than not in 'immediate danger' and that she needs to be patient.

Patient.

"Captain Rogers," Pepper says softly, "I don't think you understand how it is on this side." It's not said with malice, no anger, but more resignation. "But these games mean real people get caught. This time, it's me. You're telling me that there is nothing I can do but sit and wait while .. who knows what is going on, and everyone moves on? Stark Industries has been my life. Tony ... working with Tony has been my life, and up until now, I've never wondered if I should have done something different with my life." Not even when Tony had declared himself Iron Man did she... okay, she did waver. A lot. But!

"I'm not sure I can do this again."

Taking a moment, Pepper slowly rises to her feet and offers a hand, "Thank you for your time.. I.. I should probably be going."

Steve Rogers has posed:
His expression not wavering from its solemn state, the Captain then too rises. When her hand is offered, he takes it and returns the shake with respectful, firm pressure. There's still an empathetic light in his true-blues as he looks at the hard-working woman, she who he counseled with a need to be patient yet in a time where it isn't warranted or truly wished.

"I think I understand more than you think, Miss Potts, 'nd I wish I could do more. Right now, my hands are tied. Tony needs friends whenever he can manage 'em 'nd he needs you whether it seems like it or not. Patience..."

His eyes fall off to one side and he manages a faint laugh before he looks to her again, slinging his thumbs off the pockets of his jeans. "'s'not my favorite thing to suggest when things like this come up, but...can't go into a situation without all the details if certain things are on the line." The look he gives her now is very understanding.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"He has a wife now. He is married. He told me he's happy." Pepper shakes her head and chuffs softly, "As much as I'd like to believe you, I'm not sure he needs me for anything other to make sure the company is there when he is done with the campaign. And that's just because there's no one else that knows it right now." Being used.

The shake is given, her own a feminine feel in his, but it's a hand that has helped launched mergers, hostile takeovers, friendly takeovers.. and soothed fevered brows. It's retrieved soon after, and her own bright, glistening green eyes meet his before she looks away. "I just don't know, Captain. I really don't."

Pepper does move towards the door where she came in, offering again, "Thank you."