4471/Secret Doors: Locked In

Secret Doors: Locked In
Date of Scene:	23 December 2020
Location:	Avengers Mansion - First Floor
Synopsis:	Tony and Pepper, trapped in another phase, try to make some progress.
Cast of Characters:	Tony Stark, Pepper Potts

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Tony Stark has posed:
Tony was supposed to just do the first 'shift', and to wake Pepper after a certain amount of time. He /probably/ (aka Definitely) hasn't done that, at least not yet. When Pepper wakes, Tony is in a new position, near his cluster of tech objects: and has made some obvious headway, in that things are very rearranged.

The pair couldn't exit the mansion, but did pull back to one of the upstairs rooms, away from where the main activity seemed to have been related to the ghastly shape. Tony's taking time to work with what he got from the drone's scans, and to try to sort out some sort of relay to pierce through back to where they came from.

Now, though, it looks like something else was made from the collected tech, in addition to the drone. There's some sort of item that is catching condensation and dripping into the CAPTAIN AMERICA! branded water bottle positioned under it. Tony's squatting next to it. He also doesn't have the glasses on anymore, which could be alarming - except a glance at the drone shows that it seems to have been given one of the lenses to use, and the glasses were refitted to allow the drone to scan and keep watch instead.

There's also warmth: in the form of two garments clipped together, that Tony draped over Pepper at some point after she rested: a sweatshirt and a towel, attached together to make one larger drape to cover more of her body.

Tony draws the water bottle free, smells it, and takes a testing sip of the contents, in a thoughtful way.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Under normal circumstances, and yes, there are moments in Pepper's life that are actually pretty darned normal, it wouldn't be the end of the world if she took an extra fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, or even a bit longer to sleep. Particularly after hostessing some massive event, or having flown back halfway across the world. That could be understandable and forgivable. But, to sleep in when she was supposed to be woken up, and.. and.. and..

Pepper seems to almost forget herself, forget their predicament, warm as she is under the makeshift blanket. Green eyes open, close, then open again as that realization hits her yet again, and she bolts upright, still sitting on the floor, her attention on Tony. "You didn't wake me up," is both an accusation and an excuse all rolled into one. "Why not? Tony, you need--"

She's started talking before truly taking things in once more, and as she looks around at the things that are slightly different around her, she quiets down just a little. The little drone appears to have things under control; it almost looks self-important, if a little bit of metal and tech could exude it, it does. Her hand reaches for the warm bits of fabric, pulling at it again. It is warm.

Now that she's got her bearings once more, Pepper is ready to frame some less scattershot questions. "Tony?" The word encompasses all, everything she wants and needs to know.

Tony Stark has posed:
"That /does/ seem to be the case," Tony playfully answers Pepper as she accuses him of not waking her. As usual, he doesn't deny things, nor does he suffer any shame about it. He entirely did choose to not wake her.

"I had an idea, so I just powered on," Tony supplies. That's entirely in character, of course: and he may have just sat there with his idea and stayed awake anyway, so she may as well get some rest out of it.

Tony replaces the water bottle back into place, and switches the little machine he'd made back on. It begins to drip water lightly into the bottle again with a low, flat little sound. Tony rubs his face with the heel of his hand, pushing firmly up against the left eye socket in a scrubbing way, and moves over towards Pepper on his knees. With flop that is still entirely confident in a very Tony way, he drops next to her, and curls one arm over her middle; his chin comes to her shoulder and he shuts his eyes. "You missed nothing. No other substancial updates. G-D1 wasn't equipped for dealing with broad ranges, so that's sort of... in-progress. While I think about /that/, got busy making some water."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Mmmm.." is returned, her lips pressed in a hint of a smile, the expression easily reaching her eyes. "Don't do that again, okay? Just.. promise me, even if you have no intention of keeping it." Pepper completely understands his thought process there; she's experienced it, has the front row seats to his manic genius moments.

Her arm, then, is used as a prop to help keep her upright, and when he comes to lean in on her, to have some contact, Pepper reaches up to fluff some of that short dark hair. "He looks like he was born for the job, though," is murmured softly. Her head cants slightly, her hair falling to the side, and her brows rise a little, wrinkling her brow. "You'd said that his data didn't make sense. Nothing there?"

Her hand continues to play in short hair idly; it's become an unconscious action, the soft, physical affection. "Water?" Pepper hadn't considered //that// aspect of it all, and a soft sigh exits the woman. "Of course.."

Tony Stark has posed:
"Born for it? More like a midlife crisis moment," Tony chuckles a little bit, eyes still closed, but happy to chatter about the drone, and to keep things lighter. Better to do that than to be down about their current situation.

"But all of my robots since, urgh, 2018, have had at least /decent/ scanner arrays, so there's still a good amount to work with, even if he never imagined a life as a sentry." With that, Tony smiles and inclines his head into her hand, perhaps subconsciously.

Tony did, in fact, evade promising anything about the decision to let her rest longer. He's not sorry. "Yeah, learned a few things about priorities like water in my last cave." His expression tightens, jaw moving with the tension there, but he opens his eyes and smiles at her anyway. "No need to wing it AND be dehydrated."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper's already had her moment of sheer panic, then the slow simmering fear. Now, she's at the stage of resigned (dis)belief topped with a heaping of hope that things will work out. JARVIS is on the other side, and maybe a couple of others? Surely they've noticed? Assuming time is the same on both 'sides', that is. Talking about the drone keeps her from mentioning that giant elephant in the room, that is, where that creature could be, and how much time they have.

Tony's explanation of how he'd built the drones gains a nod; she'd been there, of course, but only used the drones lightly, peripherally. When his head leans into her hand, she wraps her arm around in order to just hold what must be a tired Tony.

His words spoken in memory of the past brings her lips to the top of his head as if she can kiss the memory away; at least only briefly. But, he's right. "I hadn't thought of that." And she hadn't. "Where is everyone? Are they around and we just can't see them?"

Tony Stark has posed:
"I have some things on the scan feed from the 'bot, that I think are people, yeah. And there was a lot of footage from this happening to Clint and Steve that I had been going through before -- so I'm looking for similarities in it." Tony adjusts, to move to lay back further, clearly going to accept the opportunity to get a little bit of rest in.

"I was thinking of a catnap for maybe an hour, see if I can beat this headache," Tony adds, though. "G-D1, set an alarm for - let's say ninety minutes," Tony declares, as if the little bot was being a stand in for JARVIS or HOMER.

G-D1 chimes in a metallic little voice, "Yes sir."

Tony gives a thumbs up towards the robot, and then gives Pepper an 'innocent' sort of 'what?' look, expecting her to argue, of course. But...

"I'll get us back, Pep. Maybe in time for Christmas." But their first Christmas might well be in this odd place. At least they're together, and not apart, though?

Pepper Potts has posed:
She watches Tony as he speaks, and she can feel his fatigue and stress through his words. Laying her cheek against his head, red hair falls forward to his cheek. "I already got too much sleep, remember?" She's not averse to laying with him so he can try and quiet the voices in his head.. not that she's ever truly successful at it. She at least tries.

At hearing about his headache, though, Pepper takes a flat hand to run across his cheek and up his hair, gently. "Then you do need to rest. You got water, and..."

Tony's instruction to the little drone is one thing, but when it replies? Pepper can't help but to laugh, the sound warm and affectionate. "You are too much," comes fondly. Innocent? Ha.

That nap does sound good, though, and Pepper pulls the makeshift blanket up so it can cover Tony. "I'm sure you will, Tony." It's their 'first' Christmas as a 'real' couple, and here they are. At least they are together!

Now, she's ready to lay back down, allowing Tony to rest as well. They'll be woken in 90 minutes by the drone, and knowing the genius, they'll be well protected.