2679/A good 'Weird'

A good 'Weird'
Date of Scene:	29 July 2020
Location:	Stark Tower: Penthouse
Synopsis:	Tony and Pepper share an awkward moment that could change their relationship.
Cast of Characters:	Tony Stark, Pepper Potts

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Tony Stark has posed:
"Hey Pep," Tony greets smoothly, voice only, no video, over their communication system. "I'm finally at a good stopping point. I ordered some chinese delivery. Think you can get a break from the event tomorrow to eat?" Tony's voice is entirely amused, teasing. There's a very tired edge to it - unsurprisingly, perhaps, but he's covering well with this play. Because it is NEVER Tony that is the one to ask that question. And he's enjoying being the one to ask it.

"I'm compiling data, as well as doing some manufacturing of parts, and it is not, sadly, instantaneous," Tony chatters more. "I'm grabbing a shower, then I'll be in the penthouse," he adds.

Pepper Potts has posed:
It takes time and effort to move mountains, it really does. It takes a dedicated staff in the form of assistants in order to get what needs to be done, done due to the immediacy of timelines. Sotheby's has been contacted and contracted, the venue, caterers... that's not to mention working with the relief agencies...

And the business of Stark Industries. Pepper has help with that, but with the issue with the bottles? Thankfully Stark Industries is pretty well oiled.

The television is back on, and Pep has yet other channels on her tablet, on her screen when Tony's voice rolls over all of it. For a second, the sound just seems as if it's part of the background as she works on the reports, but there's something that makes it different than the ambient..

"Hmmm?" Pulling herself out of her thought processes, it takes her a moment to regroup, and staring at her screen, she shakes her head. "Tony.. I.. uh.." She sounds like she could use a break, and she breathes a soft chuckle, "I.. I think I should."

There's a ghosted, tired smile; she can hear the playful tones; he's pleased with himself.

Pushing the chair back, Pepper slips her shoes on, takes her jacket from off the back of her chair and starts to put some of the screens to sleep. "I'll be there in a few." Beat. "Chinese?" Him? He ordered?

Tony Stark has posed:
"Yes, HOMER repeated the last order you'd made," Tony says, pleased with himself. For.... essentially doing a copy of what Pepper had done in the past. But that's one of his tricks: he finds something that works, and keeps the system in place for that, to keep his attention focused on other things. A part of his multitasking, maybe.

"Bring a suit, the jacuzzi's a possibility," Tony adds, though he has no real pressure in the suggestion. He doesn't expect her to do that at all; it isn't like she has /before/...

"HOMER, shut off her stations if she doesn't take a break in the next half hour," Tony adds, cheekily, pulling the 'boss' trump card. Now he's sure she'll be there in a few, indeed...

Tony ends the communication, to go do the shower he'd had in mind, because he's got various items related to his inventing on him - and he's sweaty. So the shower is the first thing in order, meaning if Pepper comes up right away, the Penthouse will be lit up but temporarily empty, as Tony's finishing up in there.

However, the food was brought up by an assistant, and has been arranged on the kitchen counter.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"He did," is stated dryly, the humor present in her tones. Of course he did! Though, Homer is getting closer. The AI has a pronoun now! Even if Tony can't see it, Pepper rolls her eyes as she looks around her office to make sure she didn't forget anything. "Don't you dare, Homer," comes in almost immediate response to Tony's 'threat'.

Still, she exhales in //that// sigh when the jacuzzi is mentioned. She doesn't normally carry a change of clothes to work, but since this project? Who knows when she can get home to change, so, yes... she does have a change of clothes. A bathing suit, though? "I don't have one with me," she explains with a softly patient air, "I don't normally think to bring it."

The office is shut down as far as she wants, her systems set to sleep until she returns, and still in her work clothes, starts her path up to the penthouse.

The elevator door opens to the Penthouse soon after, and as she steps through, she finds the food set up on the counter. Brows rise, and as she crosses the room, she sets her purse down on a side table. Searching the room briefly, there's a hint of a smile on her face; it's evident he's been working. The Penthouse is almost as much of his workshop as the workshop is, minus some of the more physical stuff, and to a trained eye? It shows.

Tony Stark has posed:
And there's Tony. The water wasn't running, which suggested he was just drying off and getting dressed. He comes rolling out at a relaxed, easy pace, pausing near the doorway of his bathroom area, as he still has a small towel he's using to buff water out of his hair.

Tony's fresh and clean, with a warm color to him from the heat of the shower. He has no product in his hair, which allows it to lay more naturally, a bunch of it brushing forward down into his eyes and laying on eyebrows, instead of being swept back or up sleekly.

"I see you made it, unearthed yourself from the charity requirements," Tony chuckles. His dark eyes are attentive, if tired, as he takes in her there, almost staring at her -- but then not: then his gaze quickly sweeps sideways to the food. Tony tosses the towel back behind him onto the sink and comes out the rest of the way. He's dressed in just a long-sleeved tee and black jeans, suggestive that he might intend to go back to the workspace after they eat. "So, let's see how well I did. If not well, HOMER is to blame." Tony comes over to poke through the food, snaring a piece of beef to taste.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper catches the newly cleaned Tony, and she smiles as she watches him, her expression lightening even with her being tired. She usually has a hard time //not// to look at him, how he moves, the way he works the crowd when he's 'on', and even when she's alone with him, she still just can't keep her eyes off of him. She has to physically pull her attention away.. but that's not yet.

The smile shifts to the bemused, and she nods. "Well, while you're saving the world and having to figure out how to get your research to work with the others', someone has to call offices to make sure people received their invites on time, laugh at dumb jokes.."

She's not far from the counter with the food, and finally she's there, ready to look at the offerings. "Egg foo yung, okay.." is checked. "So far, not bad," she teases. She watches as he grabs the piece of meat, brows rising, "And if it was right?" Poor Homer. Soon enough, Pepper pulls a seat and slides in before she takes a breath, only to let it out in a long, slow exhale. "I want to hire someone to attend all the charity events I don't want to go to. Or, I just might ask Amanda to go for me and tell her I owe her." She chuckles low and looks at Tony with a lingering gaze, "Not looking forward to this one coming." And she's the one running it!

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony has picked a plate and is filling it with variety from the offerings on the counter: looks like a general sampling of most everything for the time being as he lifts a dark brow to her commentary about her difficulties.

"Not looking forward to it? Not so much feeling the cause anymore?" Tony teases her relentlessly, as if aghast she would feel that way, but he then moves a hand to attempt to touch her shoulderblade, palm open. From the shower, he's very very warm.

"I tease, I'm terrible. We can hire more event planners, you know, to host," Tony suggests, with an easy shrug. "Normally I wouldn't mind doing it, either, but I might be the only one to set up this relay in the time frame we're trying to do this in."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper more picks as she checks the offerings, though she's not very hungry. After a certain time, she's more... nibbly than actual 'dinner' hungry. That's the point at which she is, currently. So, as he takes his food, she's picking at the steamed chicken and vegetables, a small side helping of brown rice, and her vice.. the egg foo yung. And gravy.

She smirks before she barks a soft, airy laugh, shaking her head. "No, no.. I believe in it. Just organizing something in a couple of days, and having to explain to disappointed politicians' wives that you won't be there?" There's a game smile that remains behind, "It was hard to convince them that they still should attend." But, she was victorious!

His hand on her back, though.. it's warm, and she can feel the gentle strength in it. Leaning back against it unconsciously, there's that hint of gratitude in green eyes. "It's very short notice. I do have help, I do. I just..." and she shakes her head and looks fondly at him,

"You are the only one who could." There's certainty there. "I know that. You really don't need to be there. I can handle it myself. I've done it before, and will do it again. It's just.." nice when he's there.

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony is often ruled on his instinct: in his innate ability to just make things up as he goes: to sense the right thing to do, or at least to always follow his heart into things. Maybe he does mess up, but more often than not, he finds his way with confidence and a great adaptability.

Tony tilts his head a little bit, watching her concerns, as she lays out her worries and difficulties to him. And he senses her request for his support as she leans to his hand. She's pulled thin: in being overworked, in worries, and the responsibilties. Tony sets his food down, and sort of guides hers aside, and acts on an instinct to pull her into a hug. The hand at her back comes up behind her head.

He doesn't talk to her right away, he just does that instead, as she expresses. But when she trails off.. "It's a lot," Tony agrees.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Thing is, Tony does know all the right things, and it's one way he's been so successful in business and in the numerous social circles he moves in and through. He's good; no one could ever say otherwise. At least Pepper couldn't. She's seen first hand the trail he's blazed and those that have been part of the journey.

There's that moment when she instinctively resists, but it's not for lack of wanting to just.. be held. It's guilt; he's doing so much, and it's the least she can do to do what is needed. It's not as if he's blatantly risking his life.. so she doesn't have to worry about that. It's only that heartbeat, though, before she turns and allows herself to be guided into the hug. At the embrace, she melts into it for a long moment, her cheek against the upper part of his shoulder. She nods against the warmth, her eyes closing in the moment.

It's only a couple of heartbeats, though, that she remains before she brings her head back a little and up, leaning on that supportive hand, to look into brown eyes. She holds her gaze briefly there before leaning in to press a light kiss on his lips. It's slow, deliberate, and obviously? Not a lot of thought in it.. just, action.

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony comfortably adjusted when she resisted a little, but similarly followed when she seemed to change her mind, and allowed herself to finally lean on him and accept the comfort he intended to offer. She's been his best friend lately -- sure, Rhodey is as well a best friend, but differently? -- and he very much wanted to help her to feel better. So his hug was secure, shifting into an embrace as she melted to him.

And Tony, for his part, relaxed as well; there's a trust between them, though no, he hasn't held her particularly like this before. It did feel long overdue, and fine, though, natural. He'd turned his head in a little towards her hair, the mild scent of her shampoo close to his nose, his gaze filtering down towards the floor behind her.

Pepper lifting her head drew his attention back to her face, a calm look returning her gaze. And then she's kissed him, and she'll read all of his reaction in his face. Mostly, bewilderment. He blinks at her, twice, brows up. He swallows once, lips parting a little. "Ah, um." It's very difficult to derail Tony from talking, but she's done it. She entirely surprised him.

Despite that, he hasn't pulled away at all, his hand still cradles the back of her head. He's staring at her, searching into her green eyes for information about this change. His gaze then moves to her lips, then back to her eyes.

There's no playfulness or bravado there in Tony; the mask is off. "That, um." Tony clears his throat again, swallowing and drawing in his lower lip briefly.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper pauses, stops herself in that first sound, and looks embarrassed in the moment. He was warm, so solid against her, and .. the following heartbeats, she takes a half-step back to extricate herself. She's okay, and she clears her throat softly in an effort to try and hide it.

Green eyes linger again, but in those seconds, she pulls it away to look to the side, to the ground, and her hands slide back to first his elbows, then drops them slowly. "That.." Right. Awkward!

"I.. I think I might try that lo mein.."

She does a quarter turn towards the counter again, a hand coming out to rest on the back of a chair, looking like it's a light touch, but more to keep her balance. Something hard, cool.. and not Tony.

"So.. I.. I think Senator Kelly has agreed to attend tomorrow night." Work! Work is good.

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony didn't do anything to suggest she should draw back; his surprise meant he did very little, really. She lowers her hands to his elbows, and then steps away from him, and he doesn't chase or pursue. He does keep looking at her, though, at her nervous and awkward response.

She's turned away, and it's certainly awkward. He's feeling very awkward. And there's sort of two ways to go here.

Tony could laugh and divert: very quickly and very easily. Feels are HARD. But there's also a sense of an opportunity, a moment that's slipping out of fingers. Tony recognizes those moments, at least subconsciously. And he can identify in a deeper way how it felt to hold her, how it felt to be kissed by her.

"Pepper," is what Tony says. Just that.

Pepper Potts has posed:
She'd turned away again, ostensibly to look at the food that she was singularly uninterested in in that very moment. While she doesn't have a death grip on the chair, she is using it as something of a crutch. She could kick herself; he's her boss. Everything spins 'round and 'round in her head, and it keeps coming up that she wanted to kiss him. She wanted to stay in his arms, but it seemed so glaringly obvious that he was surprised.

He was surprised.

It is hard, and what could she possibly say that could make it any better? Pepper looks back at him, green eyes to his brown, and smiles a quick, awkward little smile. It's flashed and is gone, though not fully. It would remain for the length of time he's within her sight. That's.. how much she'd wanted the kiss.

Shaking her head, she takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, "It's okay, Tony." They're okay. She's okay. Or she will be.

Tony Stark has posed:
"Yeah. I mean. Sure," Tony responds, bouncing back emotionally, like he always seems to be able to do. BURY those feels! He lifts one hand to the side of his cheek, brushing the fingers along it against his goatee, fingertips coming subconsciously towards his lower lip. They get there and he drops the hand quickly, aware of it.

"I was /going/ to say that that was -- unexpected," Tony ends up with. Awkwardly.

"But not... weird. Which is weird. Is that weird?" Tony asks, in his more usual quick rapidfire. He's feeling a little exposed, and it makes him ramble - to fill the air with words is a common out for him.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper watches him closely, and she nods her head before she cants her head slightly to the side. She's not seen him so.. off balance. Exposed. At a loss for words. She's not really found her own footing, her own equilibrium yet, and the more he's off, she's not quite touching ground either.

"It's.. weird," she agrees quickly and readily. But, not completely weird. "But.. not." There's a hint of recovery in her own tones, in her manner and mien, finding that more solid ground.

The problem is, and she comes back around to it in her head. He's her //boss//. He is, but at this moment, it's 'Tony'.. the one that she had decided what feels like a long time ago that she really didn't have anyone else. Her best friend.. and she'd admitted that aloud to someone just recently. A revelation without being a complete revelation.

Her words drop off into the air between them, and for a couple more heartbeats that seem like forever as they pound in her ears, she stands there before she gestures towards the door, and beyond, the elevator. "I.. I'm going to get back to work on.. things." Things. "The, uh.. Benefit. Menus are done, florists, seating, and I have to get two more advertisement blasts out.."

Pepper pauses again before she nods quickly and turns in that direction and starts out, leaning to pick up the purse she'd set to the side on a small end table.

Tony Stark has posed:
There's a long, long history between this pair of Pepper talking to Tony and then attempting to leave, and Tony comes along after her to attempt to continue talking about ... whatever it is. Usually things like that maybe only four parties are needed, not five, and Tony has a good arguement for five. Or that she's reminding him to not stay up for days, and he's trailing her to snark a bit more about how he'll invent a machine that will zap him awake if he starts to snooze on the console. It's a familiar thing, this follow-and-counter from Tony. Which could also be read, in hindsight, as a way to spend a little more time with Pepper, prolong a visit just a bit longer.

"Pep, if that was... /something/," Tony says, following her to the elevator, but giving her some space. He'll just stay back in the penthouse doorway. He gets there and sets a hand on the doorway, thumb fluttering a bit on the edge of the frame.

"I'm going to need you to tell me if it ... should mean something, or not." This is a tone used most frequently for asking her to tell him if there's an undertone to a press conference he should be aware of going in. That tone used when she takes care of him and he leans on her so heavily in so many ways.

"But it can wait." Because he cares for her and is giving her the out if she wants it. He's not trapping her, and he also feels really awkward and exposed. If she wants to backtrack it all.... he's not sure how he feels about that, but if she did kiss him and felt nothing about it.... then things could go back to normal. Right.

"It can wait, if you need to prepare your powerpoint about it. Some flow charts." THAT is the true 'out': he's offering to shift things into easy teasing. Comfort.

And there's the actual real 'tell' about it. He's dodging the feels, maybe - but there's something /to/ dodge, to soften.

Pepper Potts has posed:
When Pepper leaves those times, it's not a retreat. Never a retreat. It's a purposeful statement from a position of care, concern and consideration. Every single time. It can be traced back, each time it ends with 'I can't watch you <fill in the blank of something horrible>, or 'You need sleep/food/to stop this'. And yes, there's the argument, all the reasons why he's doing the right thing at her back. Sometimes she stops and stays to discuss further, sometimes she doesn't.

This time?

She doesn't.

Pepper does stop, however, and turn to look at him, her expression a tumult of emotions. One bonus for her, however, is that she's not crying nor is she beet red. In those steps, she's regained some of her composure, the equilibrium that she shows in the face of such things (well, other things. This is new!). Her lips press tight at the entreaty, the sound of his voice almost sounds to her ears like he's confused, lost.. and just isn't getting it. Green eyes are bright, and there's two... needs that fight for supremacy. The one is her own; to let him know how she feels and risk losing her .. complete access to him. It's more than the passcode to the lab. Or, to let him off that hook. To return to him that freedom, which in her book would be a kindness to him. Even if it hasn't been the same since the cave.

It's all in those seconds that hang, and when she nods her head, there's something of a decision made on that lightly complected, freckled face. "I thought so," she begins, "It's okay, though."

She allows a chuckle at the akwardness, the powerpoint presentation? At the offer, she shakes her head in that //Oh Tony// gesture that is quite probably muscle memory at this stage. There's a smile at the end of it all, though. Affectionate. Fond. And she's found her own footing.

"Finish your dinner. You still have a lot of work to do before tomorrow."

At the pronouncement, she feels a little less awkward about leaving, feeling a little less like she's fleeing. She's.. giving herself some room, but more importantly, giving him some too.

Tony Stark has posed:
That direction of response isn't really the one he had some sass prepared for. That it did mean something. Still, Tony's quick.

"I thought so too," Tony echoes of her admission that it meant something. "I like being right. I'm fortunate that I'm right... all the time," Tony says, more flippant, continuing his more easy, relaxed tone. This is a LOT easier than the serious one where feelings are out and there's danger of being mortally wounded. That happens when one cares a lot.

Despite the arrogant game, there's still the message there - he thought there was something also, and liked that he was right about it. He's being receptive.

Awkward as hell because this is WEIRD, but receptive.

Tony came along to the elevator doorway and smirks slightly as she tells him to finish his food, watching her as the doors close. All of the smirk was gone by the time the doors shut, and he held her gaze with a deeper question in his dark eyes.