2225/Pepper, Enforcer of Naps

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Pepper, Enforcer of Naps
Date of Scene: 25 June 2020
Location: Stark Tower: Penthouse
Synopsis: Tony's work on the Brainiac situation exhausted him, and Pepper ensures he gets some rest.
Cast of Characters: Pepper Potts, Tony Stark




Pepper Potts has posed:
It's getting late (or is that early?) and most, that is, 98% of Stark Industries employees are home and asleep, aside from the obvious security, environmental and those 'on call' for that 'just in case'. There are others, however, that haven't been able to sleep, or rather, one in particular, and she's come wandering. Oddly enough, Pepper knows Tony well enough that the lab is the first place she should look; if he's awake, this is where he'd be.

After the initial inquiry from Homer confirms her opinion, Pepper descends the stairs towards the lab, dressed down enough to know that she has no intentions of being seen 'in public' (outside the Tower), but not 'casual familiar' either. Her hair is down, brushed out, and she has a pair of slip-on Vans. Her expression is one of tiredness, but there are those worried lines that peek out as 'crows feet' at the corner of her eyes.

Pepper gives him a chance to answer, poking her head in when she finds that the door will open to her. "Tony?"

Tony Stark has posed:
"--nah, I want you to run that with this new piece of code, the L-44." That's Tony's voice, chatting with Homer.

"Estimated time for the test with is five hours and twenty-two minutes," Homer reports.

"That's not acceptable," Tony says. He leans backwards: he's in one of his comfy lab chairs, and he leans into Pepper's view. He lifts one hand in a 'come on over' motion of two fingers in a beckon.

"If I say to run that in parallel with the two scans I have pending, you're going to tell me something even worse, aren't you. Don't break my heart now," Tony warns the AI dryly.

Tony is dressed comfortably, draw-stringed pajama pants, a black and gray 'AC/DC' shirt, gray socks. He's been doing programming work. He looks entirely beat, but hanging in there.

"Seven hours, and--" Homer begins. Tony groans and clutches his heart. "fifty-eight minutes, is the run time," concludes the AI.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper catches the familiar voice on the other side, and she doesn't wait for the 'wave in', given now that she's at least through the door. It's getting to the point where just seeing him makes her feel a little better, and her head cants as she picks up on the conversation. She navigates the room easily, and settles beside a table to lean her hip against, lifting her arms to cross before her loosely. "Looks like you have a broken heart," she quips with a touch more humor than she actually feels. It's evident in those green eyes.

"I tried to sleep and couldn't." Pepper pauses, her tones shifting to something a little more gentle, "I'm going to guess that you haven't tried yet." Holding her hand up to forestall immediate argument, she continues, "Homer says you've been at this all night." She shakes her head and her words are still underlined with concern, "I know you have a lot on your plate.. that-that-that they're going to expect something from nothing, like they usually do. And you're going to give it to them, but Tony? Don't get to the point where you are only functioning on coffee and... whatever else you find around here." Chinese food, maybe?

Tony Stark has posed:
"I'm almost out of these toasted almonds," Tony laments when she brings up his 'whatever else'. Tony's got stashes of snacks all over the place. He's lightly teasing her, but he is in fact almost out of them, lifting the container to show her proves the case.

"Getting close to getting into what this highly evolved etch-a-sketch is doing with his code," Tony says towards Pepper. "Which would mean Satellites. It would mean Sentinels. It could mean no more missing cities. Big stakes."

Tony lifts one hand to tap a few fingers against his cheekbone, and turns tired dark eyes towards Pepper. He's really exhausted, it shows in the steadiness of the look, the lack of energy to flip his attention all over the place.

Tony's eyes narrow a little, and he swivels back towards the giant array of screens. "Hold that thought, let me alter L-44 to do a waterfall, and we'll pull in JULIA's new AI grid for sequencing," Tony tells Homer. Tony forgets Pepper for a minute, rapidly coding.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Her lips form a flat, tight line as she tries not to smile indulgently at the showing of the bag of empty almonds. He is teasing her, and she chuffs a soft breath and shakes her head, adding, "I believe you." It's in the next few moments, as Tony begins to data dump, giving her a brief sit rep of where, exactly, he stands or doesn't stand in all of 'this'. She can hear it in his voice, the heaviness, the weight, and when he turns to look at her?

Pepper takes another breath and shakes her head before she crouch/kneels near the chair so he doesn't have to look up at her. "Tony, you're exhausted. Look at you." She wants to reach out, and she begins to, only to have the timing a bit off as he swivels back around and towards the array of screens.

He's back to work, and she frowns, her brows creasing as she's torn. Rising again from her crouch, she leans on the table, her backside resting on the edge, and she watches him for a long few heartbeats before she decides she'll be breaking in again.

"Tony, you are past tired. You're getting to the point where you'll make a mistake if you don't rest. And you're better than that. They need you better than that." There's a pause, and her voice drops slightly, "I need you better than that." Her head cants, and she's watching him, the care, consideration and concern all vying for supremacy on her face. "Please. Let Homer run his tests for the next 7 hours. If it would make you feel better, subcontract out to Jarvis." If he hasn't already.

Tony Stark has posed:
"Yes, we're going from tired into delerium, and yet some of the best ideas come in this state. Though you could argue they'd still be there even after some sleep but, you know, we work with what..." Tony taps a few more keystrokes. "We have."

There's a pregnant pause, as the system compiles.

"Six hours, two minutes estimated with the changes," Homer reports.

Tony spins his chair back around to Pepper. His smile is entirely self-satisfied, but has a pride that isn't entirely arrogant. He's exhausted but happy with the breakthrough, it crinkles naturally around his eyes and into his close-lipped good smile. He lifts both palms, and does a grand show of dusting them together, lifting them, and flexing the fingers, as if he were magical.

"Proud of me? You ought to be. Solving the world's problems, six hours, two minutes, at a time," Tony says, reaching across to /take her hand/ loosely and squeeze it, as if to reassure her. It's automatic, tired, without thinking about it.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Whatever happened there, happened right in front of her eyes, and the only thing that she knows is that once again, Tony did -something-, and it was a something that gave him another hour and a half to help solve the something larger than world hunger. That would be world destruction. From where she's standing? The time is better.

Pepper smiles more at the fact that Tony is pleased with his handiwork, and it reaches tired green eyes, her nose scrunching slightly in the emotion. She bobs her head, a soft, "Yes, yes.. I am," and when he takes her hand and gives it a gentle squeeze, she returns it easily, standing beside him. "But," and she does keep her humor, and not a little bit of pride in the moment in her tones, "Sleep. You now have six hours to do it. So, while I'm absolutely thrilled you were able to take the time off, you have given yourself less time to sleep."

Tony Stark has posed:
"Except," Tony clarifies, using his free hand to hold up one finger, then two, "It has to run twice, because we avoid Ultrons here at Stark Industries." He clicks his tongue a little, but sighs heavily, rubs the hand up over his goatee and face, back into his hair, and then pushes up to his feet.

"Would you like to begin the sequences?" Homer inquires.

"Yep, and pull JARVIS off of the Satellite thing for the second run, should cut that down, but leave him on them until then," Tony decides. He orients more entirely on Pepper, now that he's standing.

There's a pause. "I did eat more than almonds. There were cheeseburgers involved."

Pepper Potts has posed:
So there are a couple of hours saved, right. Pepper acknowledges with a pursed lip and a quick nod before, "Good, then maybe there is hope." For him to get something more than a brief 4 hours.

There. The mention of Jarvis entering the fray when needed brings a warmth to Pepper. It's strange, being so attached to an AI, but he has a personality all his own. And, honestly, she fully believes that if he'd found out that he wasn't being asked to do something, he'd be the morally equivalent of upset.

It's when he rises, that Pepper truly notices that he hasn't yet let go of her hand, and.. it's nice. It brings him closer, brings her a touch closer, and she just feels.. worlds better with the simple bit of contact. "Well, at least you finished your almonds instead of ignoring them. Or, did you start with the cheeseburgers and then settle for the almonds later? Because I think that might be saying something." She pauses for a heartbeat, then, "That you can't stall because you're hungry. Which means milk and cookies are out. I need to know you're asleep before I can." A sigh escapes the woman, and she looks into those brown eyes, "Because I can't. And I've tried."

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony watches her, setting aside the other project to run in the background and fill the screens around them with scrolling data, much like they just entered a blue-tinted version of the Matrix. Tony appraises her, letting go of her hand, but it's to attempt to move the palm to her shoulder.

"You look as tired as I feel. Don't tell me that guest suite isn't working out for you. If the bed is made of rocks, you should complain," Tony says, with a hooked smile, looking between her eyes in a studying way.

"Ooof, if I could have a few drinks and pass out, I would. I need to be unfortunately sober for a bit longer," Tony laments, turning away some, but not before he attempts to set a hand at the small of her back, the same distracted way he'd escort a supermodel somewhere; gently leading. "One will have to do."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Tony's hand can pull free and clear as Pepper loosens her already gentle hold on his, and brushes her palm lightly and quickly on the side of her pants. She takes a deep breath as the hand moves to her shoulder, and she lets it out in a form of a soft, tired throaty chuckle. "I'll complain to management in the morning," she laments. "I don't think that's quite it, though." The news reports plays over and over through her head, and every day since, the news channels in her office don't stray far from the sensational. Fights, vigils.. questions as to who will do what, when. "And, gee.. thanks.. yes, I probably look exhausted, just like you look." So there!

She does keep her words light, however, and as she is gently directed, gently spun in the direction of the door to be escorted out, Pepper looks beside her over her shoulder, "Milk and cookies. One. You drive a hard bargain."

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony lets go of her fully for the stairs, coming up behind her to the penthouse. She won't see it as she's leading, but there's some deep sound of his yawn: and no attempt to hide it if she peeks at him to check. Just a sort of beaten tiredness that he doesn't show to anyone.

Well, not /just/ anyone, anyway. His guard is down, and he's out and away from the stimulus that was keeping him going. As they reach the penthouse he stops at the top of the stairs to lean and pull off one sock, then the other, balling them loosely together, and approaching his bedroom door with a brief detour to toss them inside. Good enough.

"I was thinking more of something on the rocks, not appropriate for Santa."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper ascends the stairs, still light on her feet but barely so. She places one foot after the other until she reaches the landing, before waiting briefly so the two can walk into the Penthouse together. Once inside, Pepper closes the door behind them, and crosses the room to the bar as he's pulling off his socks and balling them up.

"One." It's these moments when he is simply Tony; the rest of the world hasn't a clue, and she has no intention of ever letting anyone in on this bit of her world. Not even her best girlfriend... if she had one, that is. She has a best friend, however. She's pouring him a quick scotch, on the rocks.

She fills the glass with a couple of ice cubes before pulling the amber liquid over the ice, two fingers in all, and sets it on top of the bar while she recaps the top shelf label and sets it back in place. Once done, she picks up the glass and walks it over, her pace slower yet, the windows that make up a wall of Penthouse showing darkness still, with city lights flickering.

"I'll remember that. No scotch for Santa." There's no pause in her step, as she walks the drink over to hand it over. "Here. Take this, and go to bed. I'll.. try again. Maybe I'll get a couple of hours in knowing that you are too." She's in front of him, and she tilts her head, a fond but tired smile creeps onto her face, "I'm really proud of you, Tony. I just wanted you to know that.

"Now go to sleep."

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony hates being handed things. But Pepper's been exempt from it in certain situations. This is one of the situations: when he's too tired to buck against it, and he did ask for said drink. He takes it from her with only a little disgruntled light smirk. "Yes ma'am," Tony chuckles, taking a drink of it.

He doesn't walk off, yet, though, he gives her a thoughtful, quiet look. "The new sequence'll work. If it doesn't..." Tony frowns a little, and lifts his free hand to press fingers into his eyes slowly. "I'll have to just come up with something else. I always do."

But he's tired and stressed, standing in front of her barefoot and scruffy.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper is one of the few that can actually get away with it; maybe it's trust, maybe, yes.. there's no bucking it right now. She //could have// left it on the bar for him to get, but no... this is expedience.

Pepper can hear him, can hear his tones, his concerns, and there is that tinge of worry that she has to address. She lifts her hands just as if she was fixing his jacket, setting his tie, only he's got that t-shirt on. Still, she reaches to brush non-existant hamburger crumbs off his chest, and she isn't looking up for a moment as she considers her words. Finally, she does raise green eyes to his brown, and she presses a smile, "It'll work Tony. It'll work because you thought of it. Because you took ever variable that anyone could think of, and you put it in.. and I'm sure you set things going that people haven't thought of." She has faith.

"And, I'm sorry. I'm sorry because everyone is looking to you to help fix this, and I hate the fact that I'm watching you and there isn't anything I can do to help." There's a pause before she nods and looks as if she's going to take a step back, her head bobbing, "It'll work out."

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony shakes his head a little as she reaches out to bridge the gap and touch his shirt. She extended a touch, and Tony accepts without any issue; he steps towards her unexpectedly, with a relaxed comfort, his tired head into the side of her neck where it joins her shoulder. He doesn't move to hold her, there isn't some move on her here; it's something different.

Its a breed of exhaustion, exposed nerve, and a tightly held release of breath. There's that window into his reliance on her to keep his messy life from flying in all directions.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper doesn't move away as she catches the quiet, unspoken request. Instead, she is surprised, but not surprised by the stark, open and basic need for contact, for comfort as he lays his tired head on her neck and shoulder. It is something so very different, and she raises her hands to draw fingers through his wild hair. She lowers her head a little, feeling the breath on her neck, and she, in turn can breathe him in. It's a heartbeat in time, but it's a moment when she feels like she can do something for him, to be something that he needs her to be.

He's exhausted, worn from being someone for everyone, including her, and he's breaking her heart as much as he's giving her that chance to be what he needs. It's a two-way street, and while it has been, this.. this is where there is unspoken proof.

Her hands move from his hair to shoulders, and its she that holds him, however briefly. "I'm here, Tony," comes out as a hoarse whisper, her green eyes bright with moisture, "I'm not going anywhere."

Tony Stark has posed:
"Wouldn't be up here if you weren't here." Literally he'd be in the lab, but there's more to it than that, maybe.

Tony's free hand drops to rest on her hip, allowing himself to be relaxed by the feel of her fingers in his hair and scalp, and on his neck. He didn't really expect it -- none of this was planned anyway, Tony is winging like always. But it's all right, too; she's always been an assistant for anything and everything.

But that it /is/ natural and okay.... that's sort of weird. Tony swallows and draws his head up and back, eyes opening to give her a quizzical little look before awkwardness makes him clear his throat and flash a hooked little one-sided grin.

"I'm too tired to go much of anywhere other than the twenty steps to bed," Tony says, with a cough, offering her the emptied glass. "I'd better get on that, so you can stop blackmailing me about your own lack of sleep."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper sniffs, a touch awkwardly, barking a soft laugh at the quip. It helps her in regaining her own footing, and it's like.. waking from a strange dream where she begins to realize who she is, who he is.. and what is going on. She pulls another breath, and nods, sniffling again as she takes another second before she nods her head quickly.

"You're going to bed. I'm going.. downstairs," each word is given with a bob of her head in gesture. Green eyes are still moist, but there's that underlying smile as she takes the proffered now empty glass. "You need to get on that, yes," she's quick to agree.

"Good night, Tony."

After a heartbeat longer, Pepper finally turns, holding the glass in two hands, and she walks towards the bar to set the glass atop the bar before she's through the door, closing it quietly behind her.