7114/The mind control Elephant

The mind control Elephant
Date of Scene:	28 July 2021
Location:	Stark Tower: Penthouse
Synopsis:	Tony and Pepper work out the issue of his mind control problem, and what it meant.
Cast of Characters:	Tony Stark, Pepper Potts

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Tony Stark has posed:
"So -- I saw the footage, the tapes," Tony says. He came out of nowhere, silent in his bare feet on the soft modern white carpet. He's dressed very comfortably but there's a clean simplicity to his attire that goes well with the clean quality to his neatly trimmed beard and showered hair. He's recently come out of the shower, and some time spent dealing with any 'missing' quality that suffered on him while he had been out of it -- during the elusive, odd mind control.

"I mean... it's obvious, of course, that was certainly not me speaking for myself. So that's a relief. Whatever it was didn't /fool/ anybody," Tony says, with confidence.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Mmhmm,"

The sound is an acknowlegment of words, of presence. Pepper had the time to break things apart, put it all back together again, and it still isn't fitting completely together. HOMER had all the bio-indexes run from the watch Tony had been wearing at the gathering, no, party; blood pressure, pulse, O2, and all those little chemicals that can affect the well-being of the wearer and his heart.

Guest list had been gone over with a fine-toothed comb, and still, nothing out of the ordinary has been found. But it will be.

"Of course." Pepper could still be a touch.. sensitive about it, perhaps?

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony's smooth arrogance settles back for a moment as he looks at the back of her head from where he's positioned, looking at her seated on the couch while he's still standing. He approaches behind the couch, and distractingly loops his arms forwards around her shoulders, head dropping towards the side of her neck. He's seeking her attention, and adjusting his behavior as necessary. As his goal is not actually to upset her.

"I like that it proves we're not so brittle. You know me better than all that, and fixed it." Tony reminds, still with arrogance in his tone. But then he softens a little, nose near her cheek.

"I don't do so great on my own. Good thing I don't much like it that way, either."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper is indeed seated on the couch, not looking at him. She knows it wasn't his fault, not really; that there was some .. person (had to be a woman!) that targeted him. So, she's much, much angrier at //her//, and poor Tony is feeling some of the pique. It's not fair, not to him.

Her head dips as she catches the sound of his footsteps towards her, and when he drapes his arms, she can smell.. him. He knows that unless something //dreadful// has gone down, this is the best way to reach her. His warmth, the sound of his breathing, and the scent that is just him.

Pepper reaches up to take his hand, and exhales in a sigh, and as the air moves, her muscles relax somewhat. "I forget sometimes that you really are a target, Tony." She leans her head against his lightly, and half-smiles, "So I'm back to worrying about you."

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony releases her -- only to physically climb over the back of the couch directly near her. It's unnecessary, the move, to go that way instead of around the couch properly, but it's as if he didn't feel like taking those steps away. So instead, the low couch is stepped over partially and he slides down to sit next to her, a sly smile on his face that screams of how pleased with himself that he truly is.

Like always, Tony slides smoothly between warm honest words... and play.

"Few targets as amazing as me, it IS true," Tony agrees. "But it's always been that way. It's a Stark thing. Figure out a way to thrive in it all. .... and wear armor when the bullets get too big."

Tony relaxes in, trying to gather her close with an embrace. He's confident, assured when he's chosen a path, and he's displaying that now. "Equally important to look so good in it."

Pepper Potts has posed:
When he moves, Pepper looks up, the momentary loss of him beside her bringing a question to her lips. It dies, however, as he climbs over the back of the chair and slides down to sit beside her. Brows rise as he begins his boasting, however, and she rocks her head back slightly.

"Mmmhmm.." but there's something of a gleam in those green eyes. She reaches for a pillow briefly to hit him in the stomach with it. "My job to keep you from being too big a target, remember?"

Still, Pepper does lean in to the embrace, her head tilting to lean on his shoulder. She even lets out a soft chuckle, "Okay, okay. I like you in a suit." Armor or otherwise? She moves slightly to get a touch closer, her arm moving to cross over his chest to hold him. "II just think that red one makes you an even bigger target." And she worries. A lot.

Finally, as the last bit of stress begins to exit her body from the whole affair, she shakes her head and exhales in that last sigh, "Don't do that to me again."

Tony Stark has posed:
"Yes, being a big target while I can take it is pretty much the plan," Tony answers, with a soft laugh, bringing up one hand to curl it over her arm that's now stretched across his upper torso. The arc reactor rests under her forearm, but is only somewhat apparent, even though he's wearing a thin t-shirt only -- mostly due to that all of the light it emits becomes fully blocked with her arm there, now under his palm as well.

"Even if it does, you know where my heart lies anyway," Tony says, the joke gone, and relaxed into a slightly uncertain, but still very earnest, tone. He turns his dark eyes to her, a thoughtfulness there, but also a deliberate need for her to understand and hear him.

Pepper Potts has posed:
And this is why Pepper is so private about her personal life. At least, in terms of talking about it to the Post or the Mail, or somesuch. She loves the quiet moments, those moments when Tony is still, and there is nothing in the world but the two of them. They don't happen often enough for her, but such is her life, their life, and it's //fine//. She has been around long enough to know and to understand...

And she's one of the few people who does.

Pepper looks into those dark eyes, her own eyes bright as she smiles, her features seemingly glowing, the freckles apparent under the light base of makeup. "I know." She reaches a hand to press fingers on his lips to keep him from saying anything more.

"I know." It's in the way he looks at her across a room, the way he pauses when he catches sight of her and he's in the middle of a monologue.. in the complete faith he has in her to help guide and direct the international behemouth that is Stark Industries. She has his trust as well. Two things that she'd rather die than to lose.

"You're all I have."

Tony Stark has posed:
"At /least/ fifty percent of this," Tony teases her lightly, but his expression is warmer and more serious than the flippant comment. He turns to her and greets her with 100% of a kiss, though.