3326/Trending up

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Trending up
Date of Scene: 11 September 2020
Location: Stark Tower: Penthouse
Synopsis: Numbers lure Pepper downstairs to check on Tony, while he works on (and completes) the new iteration of his arc reactor housing.
Cast of Characters: Pepper Potts, Tony Stark




Pepper Potts has posed:
Evening at Stark Towers. Most of the work done within the building has come to an end for the day, and most of the activity is now happening upstairs, in the Penthouse and environs. Decisions have been made, and now it's just a matter of time; when is the optimal time to speak with those who are best suited to help?

Seated on the couch, Pepper is dressed down, barefooted and looking over her tablet for information regarding possible flight restrictions to certain areas...

"Ms Potts," it's HOMER, his voice sounding as if it comes from everywhere and nowhere, "I have been instructed to inform you when Mr Stark's bio-markers begin to rise. He is currently in an upward trend, standing now at 22%. He has been notified as well."

Pepper looks up from her quick research the moment she hears her name, and with the rest of the message, she sets her tablet aside to rise from her position. "How is he?" She's learned over the years that she doesn't have to actually look 'up' to speak with the disembodied voice. It's a hard habit to, break, however.

"He is alert, and the other markers appear to be stable." Stable. Stable is good.

Pepper takes a quick glance around the large, open room before she begins to navigate the distance towards the door and stairway down, her expression concerned.

Tony Stark has posed:
"Do both versions, then," Tony is talking to HOMER, while walking across his lab towards the other end. He has a snack there, and he stops near it, munching on a cracker and then stopping to also eat a piece of the cheese with it as well, his mind up in the air: in all the holograms arranged all around him. Pieces of designs, some of it extremely detailed machinery. Other pieces are clearly more theoretical. "Run time is three minutes."

"I don't have anything to do," Tony dryly answers, "Just wandering closer to death, that's all." Tony's sarcastic. Probably.

The lab is not quiet, there's some AC/DC playing in the background, but it isn't roaringly loud; sounds more like he recently turned it down to concentrate, but not entirely /off/.

Tony hasn't oriented on Pepper yet, he's eating his snack, and observing some status bars in green that have lit up to show progress on the version tests he requested.

Tony moves, then, taking his plate of snack to one of his chairs, reclining it way back, and munching.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Padding down the stairs, she comes to the door, and beyond, Pepper can hear the music. It's not quite as loud as it normally is, which means she won't have to ask HOMER to turn it down when she needs to speak with him.

And she does...

Keying in the passcode, the door opens to her touch, and the pony-tailed Pepper enters, her initial pace slowed greatly as she looks at all the holograms that are flying in the air, circling as Tony works. As he reclines, then, she approaches, in one case walking through one of the bits of his theoretical constructs, only to stop behind him.

There is a heartbeat that passes before Pepper leans over, one hand to gently glide down on either side of his chest as her head moves to the side in order to whisper in his ear, her breath soft against his skin,

"HOMER told me you're at 22%. You need to take a break."

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony does startle; she did come out of nowhere, but it is only a little bit, as he pivots his head up and back towards her, chewing the cracker and cheese he'd just put in his mouth.

"Oh hi," Tony says, tone smooth and cheerful, as if she'd wandered into his office while he was working. This is just like his office - to Tony, anyway. Were it a more dangerous situation, he would have adjusted the access. As it is, she's welcome to arrive. "He did say that," Tony agrees, as if mulling over something very serious. It turns out to be a kiss aimed at the side of her mouth. It's a little bit cheesy -- in a literal sense.

"This cheese here is the definition of a snack break," Tony defends smoothly. But he does know what she means. A real break. "....After this mockup I'll have gotten somewhere, then we'll see about break," he barters.

Pepper Potts has posed:
r"Oh hi," Pepper returns, and she remains in her lean, only her elbows bend in order to give him that backwards hug, her hands not quite reaching to the center of his chest where the reactor sits, the light blue glowing beneath his shirt. She knows it's there, whether or not she can see it.

"Mmm," and it's a quick kiss that is given in return. "Cheese.. I'm not asking you to have a snack break, though." Her tones are quietly concerned, mixed with the affectionate. It's a sound he's heard before, but perhaps just never really attuned to.

"It's going up, and I don't know how many times it can do that before it doesn't go completely down again." It's not that she's not open to bartering, it's just.. the stakes are higher than she's willing to play.

"How close are you?" Other than, 'after this mockup, I'll have gotten somewhere'. That 'somewhere could mean almost anything.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Oh hi," Pepper returns, and she remains in her lean, only her elbows bend in order to give him that backwards hug, her hands not quite reaching to the center of his chest where the reactor sits, the light blue glowing beneath his shirt. She knows it's there, whether or not she can see it.

"Mmm," and it's a quick kiss that is given in return. "Cheese.. I'm not asking you to have a snack break, though." Her tones are quietly concerned, mixed with the affectionate. It's a sound he's heard before, but perhaps just never really attuned to.

"It's going up, and I don't know how many times it can do that before it doesn't go completely down again." It's not that she's not open to bartering, it's just.. the stakes are higher than she's willing to play.

"How close are you?" Other than, 'after this mockup, I'll have gotten somewhere'. That 'somewhere could mean almost anything.

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony puts the plate aside, and lifts both hands to rest them on each of her wrists, as they drape about his neck. His palms fold gently over; it is not just an acceptance of her approach to comfort him, but more, to silently encourage her to stay there, to continue to lend her support. He leaves his head rested back, but one thumb rubs her forearm a tiny bit, a small reminder that he's very present, and willing to connect with her, at least in that way. Even if feels are hard.

"Yes, I've kept it in mid-teens today," Tony agrees with a wrinkle of nose, eyes moving toawrds the display beyond her, but his head is still inclined her way. "Basically done, fingers and toes crossed, unless something goes wrong. Kind of important that this be a safety-first sort of thing."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Lightly held in place by his touch, and there's nothing that could separate her from him in that moment. She can feel his warmth, strength, and proof of his brilliant mind is floating through the air, the statusses of some of them changing as HOMER performs the algorhythms necessary to solve problems, as guided by Tony. Her head instinctively tilts towards his, another light kiss left on the spot right in front of his ear before she looks, truly looks at some of those floating phantasms of physics. "You've done a lot," and the sound is one, too, that he's heard before. She's always impressed with the level of work that he does, almost to the point of awe.. but this is her life. To share these things.. and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Can it go down under the mid-teens?" That's Pepper's concern. Keep the pressure up, and it becomes 'usual', which is less than ideal. She does nod against his shoulder, the action quick, "Very important. But we have another day.. sort of." The last words come with a wrinkled nose, before,

"I have a meeting with T'Challa tomorrow."

Tony Stark has posed:
"Do you want me to come to that?" Tony asks, still slowly stroking her wrist with his thumb, though it slows a little bit, mostly just due to that he's turning his body towards her. He observes her in this, now.

Some of it is just taking in the shift in the dynamic. She's certainly come down to yell at him before, or to mention there's available food, or any number of other reasons related to needing him to come out of his lab. But since this shift towards dating, the visits have a different /tone/ to them, for sure.

It's mixed, though. Still the urge is there to protect her from a lot of it, but also an urge for her to see it.

To see HIM through his creations.

"Don't see why it can't. But I'm fine, even if it gets a bit worse. Not going to keel over on you," Tony assures her.

Pepper Potts has posed:
The spot where he's stroking so lightly is warm under his touch, and as he moves, Pepper shifts a little to give his turn some room. It gives her a chance to see the man she adores more fully. This? This isn't a time for anger or frustration to be levelled... it's concern, and if there is any frustration, it's a the circumstance as opposed to actions. And voicing that would do no one any good. There's no disagreement between them-

This has to get fixed. And now, she's able to act on those impulses that she'd had to hold in check for so long.

Thus, her wrapping him into her arms to hold him.

"If you have time and you're not resting. He may have questions, but I'm pretty sure I can answer them." Though, truth be told? "I'm sure he'd love to see you. He's been away and has come back to try and figure out how to bring Wakanda out."

As for his answer on the pressures? Pepper makes a soft 'tsssk' sound as she considers before asking, "HOMER, what is Mr Stark's percentage?" So formal!

Tony Stark has posed:
"I might have to go, just to enjoy hearing you talk about me like I'm not in the room," Tony scoffs at her, though there's a catch in his tone as she wraps her arms around him unexpectedly, and he turns the chair to move to pull her towards sitting in his lap, instead of standing to the side. He doesn't evade her arms at all, but moves his own around her middle, 'locking' one hand over the opposite wrist against her hip, if she doesn't evade his idea.

"Percentage is at 21%," HOMER clarifies.

This, of course, creates a victorious look from Stark himself. "You're already helping, honey," Tony teases her immediately. Then he gets stock of the pet name he used for her -- but only kind of tilts his head a little, owning it, instead of backing off on it.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper is more than happy to be drawn in onto his lap, and rests against his shouder, held there by those arms of his. "Oh, I don't do that.." she rejoins softly, a touch of levity in her words. "If you would like, I'll speak to his assistant, and you two kings can go do what you .. do." She's teasing him now, but as she settles, she brushes her lips against the side of his neck before she glances up at HOMER's announcement.

"By one point," is pointed out. But there's that pause as she does catch what he actually says, as opposed to allowing things to just roll over her. There's a wider smile before she bounces her head briefly and just ever so slightly, "I'll take it."

Both the point and the new pet name.

Tony Stark has posed:
"Mr. Stark," begins HOMER, "results are positive." The various displays begin to scroll with various things, and Tony slowly diverts from looking at Pepper to looking at the screens again. He rests with her there, but is certainly reading one of them now.

"Then that," Tony says, looking back to her with a vibrant amusement - and victory - still in his dark eyes. "Means you can have me now. Seems like maybe my reputation holds up. Once again." It's a weird humble-brag. A lot of them are.

Tony pats her hip once, a strong pat, and begins to release. It is a signal to stand: but not a bad one, since he's going to get up too. "Continue the variation tests I set up, HOMER. Compile results, the usual," he adds, but attention is on Pepper now.

Pepper Potts has posed:
HOMERs piped in voice brings Pepper's attention around as well, green eyes rising more to the displays that hover around them like electrons around a nucleus than the ceiling in response to the voice, but, again.. habit. Her own gaze comes back down at the readings on the screen; high level physics, again, is lost on her, but from the amount of green and flashing displays of success that she sees, she can't help but echo his sentiment of victory.

"Oh thank god," is breathed. That little moment of relief is overshadowed by Tony's muted display of bravado with a side of ego, and she laughs before her expression turns to that quietly amused look. "Oh.. you do know you have a reputation for more than a few things," she begins dryly as she is encouraged off his lap. She's waiting for him to rise to his feet as well before she reaches to take his hand, fingers to entwine. "But now that I have you, I have to do something with you. Come upstairs and relax with me. We'll have a drink and toast to Mark.. 2?" Three?

Already, though, she's leading him upstairs and to a much needed and much deserved break!