6176/Tech Dazzle

Tech Dazzle
Date of Scene:	10 May 2021
Location:	Stark Tower: Workshop
Synopsis:	Pepper seeks out Tony in the lab to feed him.
Cast of Characters:	Tony Stark, Pepper Potts

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Tony Stark has posed:
"Yesterday was Mother's Day, wasn't it?"

Tony's voice floats out from what he's working on, even if the man himself isn't visible. There's a larger robotic form in the middle of the workspace - sections of ceiling were moved, part of a wall. It's an 'organized' disarray: things are put where Tony wants them, but is a maze of sorts for others. It's lunch-time, and he'd expected to be poked at around this time.

Or HOMER told him.

"Did you have a good family time visit?" It's conversational, and interested without a pure casual quality to the inventor's tone. He's probably behind the robotic shape, based on the way his voice moved. A ladder back there suggests that's likely: as does a bit of moving light near the top.

Pepper Potts has posed:
HOMER is a spy, a snitch.. and a 'daddy's boy', all told. It's funny how AIs gain personalities attributed to them, though to be certain, so do Tony's little robots.

Pepper is carrying a tray down the stairs; sandwich, salad and a smoothie (something high protein without quite as much flavor, no doubt!), her steps sure, probably due to the fact she's not wearing her heels with her work-suit. "It was," comes in answer as she enters the room, slowly now as green eyes look around at the new renovations that are currently in progress. Her tones turn a touch distracted, a sure indication that she is considering her best move towards the center console work area to set the food down, "And I did. Mother kept asking after you." A smirk rises to her features as she does find a clean spot to do just that, and stepping away to wipe her hands in the other, begins to play the game of 'where's Tony'.

Again, not hard to follow his voice, and finding the likely spot, sets her hand to the bottom of the ladder and looks up. "She really is looking forward to us using the cabin this summer. Thinks it'll be good for you to get out of the City." There's a pause before the elephant in the room is mentioned, and her voice raises a few tones,

"What are you doing? Usually you do this before a major project."

Tony Stark has posed:
"I feel like she thinks it'd be good for /you/ to get out of the city. Don't pin that motherly love onto me," Tony teases in answer. He's starting to come down directly at her, as she sets her hand on the ladder. "Look out," he warns casually, as he turns to hop off at the bottom - there's enough various items around that the 'look out' was mostly so she wouldn't trip over something during her retreat to give him space to dismount.

Tony's dressed in his usual inventor heavy-work attire: jeans, tank, a mix of grime. He doesn't have gloves on now, but some marks around the forearm display that he /did/, until recently, to do some more fiddly work without the protective wear on.

"Throwing some blasts at a forcefield I made." He has protective eyewear perched in his hair, the heavier set that he owns that hooks with a reinforced strap to base of skull. "Some breaches happened. But safely inside my test zone." A palm gets flung out to splay fingers onto the surface of the robot-like thing, which has now been identified as a test containment. Tony diverts quickly to the lunch. And the smoothie. Green is suspicious. "Joining me with your smoothie?" Tony teases her, climbing across to one of the sinks down at the end of the lab, to start to scrub like a surgeon going into surgery.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Oh no," Pepper laughs, "You're included in that now. You're lucky that they haven't decided to come down to the City for the day." Moving out of the way so Tony can take that last little leap, watching where she steps as she does so, she does lean in for a quick kiss, though a nose wrinkle does emerge at the grime.

"Shower. Later."

Stepping back more now, she follows Tony through towards the center console area where she'd left the food. "Forcefield.. new one for the armor? Or.." She lets the word settle into the air between them as she approaches, turning to lean on the table, her tight smile reappearing, green eyes echoing the amusement as she shakes her head. "Nope, that's all for you. Kale, carrots, a little sweet with some goji berries. I got the recipe from the little cafe Janet and I eat at after Wednesday yoga."

Tony Stark has posed:
"Later? Why wait?" Tony teases back automatically, his tone smoothly moving into a flirtatious one, automatically. There are certain buttons that are easy to press - no doubt Pepper has learned most of them. And it is also a signal that he isn't deeply entrenched in what he's doing, that playtime and a break could be entirely possible.

"All for me. Yaaaaay." The last bit is deadpanned, but he doesn't make a face at her like a child; he approaches it after loosely drying his hands and sticks his nose in it to get a gist of what it might be like. He's skeptical, but age has put some willingness into him that wouldn't have been there a decade ago. A sign of finally growing up, maybe, is the taste of the drink...

And more skepticism, followed by a chase of her to kiss. "Still on the fence about it. Yum? Yuck?" The taste of the kiss needs to be judged by her, now.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper laughs at the rise of playful complaint, and she tilts her head slightly with the air of amused affection. "After you eat something," her tones drop, echoing with her own light flirt-playfullness.

She waits for him to return from washing up, following his progress with a turn of her body. Brows rise, and a slight dip of her head in encouragement comes with the sniff-test, but when he tries it, her smile grows. At the chased approach, however, she actually laughs out loud and takes a couple of steps back, thouggh she does allow herself to be caught easily. Arms rise to rest upon his shoulders, and she's more than willing to kiss him.. just to test the smoothie of course!

"Hmmm.. Is this the way I can get you to try new things? Because it might be a little difficult if we're out to eat."

Tony Stark has posed:
"Difficult? Only if you want me to keep up a pretense of distance. I'd hold you in public," Tony answers without missing a step on that at all. It's just direct, his decision made at some point surfacing for her to see.

Tony does divert a little, looking back to the food. His stomach makes a loud complaint. He's starving. So he hooks his arm around Pepper to pull her over that way, and reaches out with his free hand to pick up half of the sandwich. It is playful, relaxed.

"Here's my proposal for now, though, Ms. Potts," Tony says, mock-official. "I've got maybe two hours left here, and I should be at a good spot. A few more laser trials. If all goes well, I'll get some suit tests into prototype, so you can have me for the evening." Tony tilts his head, questioningly. He isn't assuming, but is hopeful, in the leaning-serious dark-eyed way he can get when he's giving her full attention.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper shakes her head, the gesture quick and underlying that emphasis, "No, absolutely not." She's finding that through the year, the small, almost subtle changes.. no, shifts on priorities has been making things so much easier for her, and with successes in stock dividends, the direction that SI has been going, who exactly considers her 'just a secretary' that goes after her rich boss?

Only the ones who never had a chance, and Pepper is good with that.

Pepper allows the diversion, her arms dropping from his shoulders, but she's never far.. not from his light, casual but meaningful leading embrace.

"Oh," once in place, Pepper's head tilts, her smirk rising again, the brightness of her features and eyes easily showing, "Okay, Mr Stark. I'll give it two hours." Brows rise, and she dips her head next, her tones expectant, "For the evening," she repeats. "I.. will be upstairs." Of course, and she leans over slightly, words hushed, "in the jacuzzi. Don't be late."