2641/Genosha Burns: Once more, with Feeling

Genosha Burns: Once more, with Feeling
Date of Scene:	27 July 2020
Location:	Temporary meeting room overlooking Mutant Town
Synopsis:	Tony and Pepper briefly talk about the meeting earlier, and connect a little bit.
Cast of Characters:	Tony Stark, Pepper Potts

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Tony Stark has posed:
Earlier that day, a meeting had been held for those involved directly in the return of Mutant town; it had been held in one of the tall buildings overlooking Mutant Town, in a mobile 'base' of sorts has been created, taking over the building temporarily.

The building is heavily outfitted as a lab, with a mix of tech from the various groups brought in for heroes to work together on the issue, including multiple test areas for items to be test-resized, and one whole floor devoted to where a device could be hooked into, say, some other giant power source or computer banks, if needed.

Most of the consoles and equipment is off; Tony has taken a sandwich from the various food, and taken over one of the end labs to hang out in, going over some of the data on one of the drives that was provided, while multitasking to make notes around the idea he'd started to toss about in his head.

"More sandwiches on the left there," Tony says, hearing someone enter. A glance back reveals it's Pepper, and Tony's smile hooks more. "Grab one, join me a bit," he welcomes her.

"I'm going to head back to the Avengers mansion in a little while, though. Do you need a ride somewhere, Pep?"

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Mmmm, always wanted stale sandwiches," Pepper muses as she stands by the door, taking that opportunity to watch him for a heartbeat. "We've got flight plans cleared for helicopters in the air when," and she tries not to roll her eyes and say 'if', "all this finally happens." So, there'll be eyes.

She walks through the doorway now, only to stop by Tony, and leans on a table, her expression fond. "Need company there? If not, just drop me off home. I have some very unexciting things to do."

Tony Stark has posed:
"They're not stale," Tony defends of the sandwiches. "At least, this one isn't." Turkey is tasty, and not at all stale. The meeting wasn't even all that long ago, really, and they were wrapped!

"Ideally all the heavy lifting can be up in orbit, not in the skies over New York," Tony chuckles but nods, with a thumbs up about the helicopters. They'll probably want the kitchen sink available and present for whatever may happen.

"Not the most ideal meeting today. But we're only getting started. I figure some bridges take a little time to build, sometimes," Tony says, giving Pepper a smile. He's tired, but relaxed, and friendly. "Been a while since somebody looked at me and saw my dad, though," Tony says, dropping one hand to the table, tapping his thumb slowly against the edge of it. Some of Tony's blustering shield drops away as he mentions his father.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper chuckles at the defense of turkey sandwiches which can be quite dry, and she shakes her head again. "Thanks, but no thanks. We can pack them up and you can take them with you to the Avengers, or we can drop them off at one of the kitchens." Nothing goes to waste!

There's a soft sound that rises from the loyal PA as she 'reads the room' as it were, and her expression softens a touch. "Yes, well, we want to be sure everyone is okay, and the helicopters might pick up on trouble from their vantage..." There's that moment where she thinks she might have lost him in terms of listening, and continues, "...because ducks can be pretty nasty. They'll pick up puppies and carry them into their nests in the cliffs."

She exhales in a soft sigh, the breath escaping as she straightens from her lean. Her path is going to take her directly in front of her genius, and she tries to look him in the eye, offering a touch of an encouraging smile. "Well, you're not him." At those words, her hand lifts and reaches to push hair from his face, letting it lightly trail down his cheek with fingers. There's a soft 'Mmmm' before she continues, "And I'm glad. You're .. you."

Tony Stark has posed:
Pepper's genius, Tony, has a gaze that isn't difficult to catch currently, because it was entirely a subject he broached and started: this one about his father. It's a very rare topic to come from Tony's instigation - more often he dodges around it or gives some offhanded comment about growing up, and changes the conversation to another way.

Tony chuckles a little bit, lifting his eyebrows at her. "No, I think I've established many differences," Tony answers, with a slight quirk to one eyebrow as she touches his face, letting her examine him: perhaps to check for certain that he's different from Howard Stark.

"To make my own path." He meets her gaze and smiles back up at her: up, since she's standing while he's seated. The held gaze lingers, as he looks at her warm, gentle support, lifting his hand to touch the back of hers.

But then Tony quirks a grin, slightly awkward, and teasingly pats her hand. "Which in this case involves possibly stale sandwiches and going back to the Avengers mansion -- to stay up entirely too late working on this, I think," Tony jokes. Why is this awkward suddenly? Usually he's not awkward with Pepper. But something funky happened there.

"I'll be maybe... ten more minutes here," Tony adds. "I want to get the first set of general concepts to the Titans. If it helps the city be back safer, that's all that really matters." He realizes he has her hand, and glances down at it.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Yes, Pepper's genius. The one that every genius strives to be as good as! The one that set the benchmark, as far as she's concerned.

The one she's the most proud of.

She laughs again, softly like part of a whispered conversation, green eyes gleaming. "I think so too." As he lifts his hand to touch hers, she can feel the warmth, the strength that's in there. He's created so much with those hands, and..

And there he is. There's that breath of relief, and her smile shifts so it's a touch brighter, catching the shift of topic. "I think that sounds like something you would do, yes. Exactly. And then your assistant will complain that you were up too late and not getting enough sleep, and--"

Ten minutes more. She's dubious, certainly, and then there's the realization that he still holds her hand. And.. it still feels really nice. "I.. well," she begins again, her tones a slow stutter. She's loathe to remove it, but there are things that must be done.

Slowly she takes a step back, and retrieves her hand, but not before she brushes it against the side of his face, tracing the still impeccably 'scaped beard. "Ten minutes. Then, I'll make sure the car is pulled around to take you to the Mansion."

Turning around on her heel, Pepper's back to making sure Tony has everything he needs in order to get done what he feels needs to be done.