Owner	Pose
Tony Stark	It's the middle of the afternoon, which is an unusual time to find Tony Stark in his penthouse. Usually he is off...doing something. Inventing in new technology. Making business deals. Or fighting bad guys. Today...well, actually, he is doing all three of those. From the comfort of his own home. Standing in the center of the penthouse, Tony has a VR headset resting atop his head and two controllers in his hands, far less sophisticated than his arc reactor powered gauntlets as Iron Man. Wearing a pair of comfortable lounge pants and a Van Halen t-shirt, he is moving his hands around quickly as he seemingly is talking to the air. "No, no, go /under/, not over!" he shouts in command. Not that is unusual for him to be seen talking to himself, but usually one of his AIs answers. This time, there is no audible response. Just Tony's voice echoing in the penthouse. "See, /that's/ what happens when you go over, you end up pulling tanother whole lot of them..."
Pepper Potts	Pepper is actually //not// overseas this week, and has been splitting her time between the office a few floors down and the Penthouse, facing the large windows that showcases the City. Except on Wednesdays. Those are the days she has yoga with 'the girls', or more accurately, with Janet. Yoga, a stop at their favorite healthy shop for some salad, and green smoothie laced with chia and goji berries. So, when Pepper arrives, she's dressed in her sporting attire; yoga pants, a loose tank top with a sporty, designer-brand sports bra underneath it. She carries a small duffel bag in hand, and once through the door, she sets it down slowly as she catches sight of Tony. Her head tilts as she catches the words, the motions, and brows rise. With nothing in hand now, Pepper approaches slowly, looking around the room; perhaps he's got a new way to control his drones from outside his suit? 'Another whole lot'? "Tony?" Her tone is questioning.
Tony Stark	There are some more frenetic movements out of Tony's hand with the controllers in them, and he pivots his head around as if surveying a scene quickly. "No, no, lead them away from..." He sighs demonstrably and throws up his hands, fingers relaxing on the controllers a bit before he shakes his head. "Yeah, load it up again and..." Then he hears Pepper's arrival, and his posture shifts. "Nevermind, brb, SO aggro." He reachs up to tap the side of the visor with one finger before lifting it off his head, the controllers now dangling from small cords around his wrist. He turns to face Pepper and gives her that award winning Tony Stark smile. "Hey Pep. How was 'romp with the Wasp'?" His forehead has a clear red indentation and his hair is a bit matted down, showing signs of having worn that visor for a non-trivial amount of time.
Pepper Potts	The next few seconds is what helps Pepper determine that it's not a life or death situation, but rather.. he's playing. Brows rise and she exhales softly, that ever present hint of a smile playing on her lips. "'SO aggro'? You mean, the grown-up just got home and is going to make you eat something?" She's teasing, absolutely, and begins to close the distance between them. "Janet says 'hello' and we had a good time. Got her to agree to a mimosa after the first swallow of a smoothie this time. I call that a breakthrough." Pepper laughs soon after, and once she arrives at Tony's side, reaches up to give him quick kiss on the lips, her manner and mien light for the moment. She reaches up to tap on the VR set, ready to trace the red lines on Tony's face where its pressed against his skin for hours. "More testing?"
Tony Stark	"Isn't that better than, 'g2g, moms making me eat'?" Tony flashes that grin as he sees the smile on Pepper's face, which never fails to light up his own. He leans in to close the distance fully, delivering a soft kiss to those lips. "You gotta talk to these kids how they need to be talked to. You remember what it was like when we were first working with Peter. That kid's all over the place, and these are like...." He waves his hand around in the air. "A handful of Peters." He snaps his finger. "That would make a great name for a band." He nods in appreciation of Pepper's efforts to get Janet over on the straight and narrow. Or at least, less curvy. "I mean, that's an Avenger leve accomplishment, I have to say." He lets her trace those lines, glancing up at her fingertips before looking back to her eyes. "The boys wanted to show me something, and then I realized there was a better pattern once I saw how the AI grouped up, and so I was taking them through some strategy sessions and..." He pauses. "It's a fun game. You should play sometime."
Pepper Potts	A laugh exits the redhead, and she nods, her hair bobbing in the gesture. "Mmmhmm. Much better." Pepper listens to Tony's quick explanation of the story at hand, and she nods, those green eyes rolling. "Let's not collect all the neighborhood kids, okay?" Her hand lowers from the tracing, and it's a heartbeat before she takes a step back before the cross is started towards the kitchenette. "I'm still dying of thirst. Must be because of the humidity out there. And I'm not going to play." Just in case he thought that she wasn't going to comment on it? "I'll let you do that. Though, I think you have an edge on them."
Tony Stark	"I thought you wanted that, some day. A gaggle of kids, at your beck and call. If I lure them in like the Pied Piper with video games, you get that AND you get to keep your amazing physique." Tony sets the vr equipment down on a small table and trails along towards the kitchen after Pepper. He steps up behind her and slides an arm around her waist, if he is not swatted for his prior comment. "That's fine, I'll do all the playing for you, as long as you bring me the snackies." He snorts a bit at the suggestion that he has the edge. "No way, these kids, that's all they do. Their reflexes are way better than mine. Heck, I had Friday play and you know how fast /she/ is, and some of them were better than /her/." He sighs, thinking for a moment. "However could I compete with an AI?"
Pepper Potts	"Mmmhmm.." There's a pause before she finishes it up with, "No." There is a smile on her face, however. Having a family has absolutely not been in the forefront of her mind; there's always something else. Always something else. Rather than a swat, Pepper leans back briefly, enjoying the quick bit of contact. "You play, I'll keep the company running, and.." She leans to reach for a grape to pop it into Tony's mouth, "bring you the snackies." She uses his word for it playfully. Brows do rise at his admission, however, and Pepper turns around to look at him, looking at his face. "Faster than Friday? How?" Notice she doesn't say anything about his reflexes.. though he is still pretty good. No, really good.
Tony Stark	"Mmm hmm." A topic for another day, perhaps. Tony leans into Pepper and nods slowly, his head coming past her shoulder as he opens his mouth to accept the grape. "See, one of the many reasons why it's good to have you around, Miss Potts." He tempers the playfulness and snark of the comment, or tries to at least, by giving her a bit of a stronger hug from behind, as he rests himself against her. "But you know I'd much rather play with you and let the company run itself..." He gives her a bit of room as she turns around, but not a ton, seeming to enjoy the contact and proximity. "Anticipation. I think." He shrugs a bit. "Same reason why computers for the longest time couldn't beat chess masters. Friday can analyze the patterns and react almost instantly, but these kids can /anticipate/ the patterns, and are reacting /before/ anything happens, so they are in the right place immediately." He tilts his head. "Friday can train her railgun at the enemy as soon as it takes a position, these guys are already aiming there and just pull the trigger as soon as the enemy moves into the space. Brilliant." He opens his mouth, as if expecting a grape to be delivered.
Pepper Potts	"I'm glad you think so, Mr Stark," comes the theatrically airy return. Pepper has that smile on her face still, and at the squeeze, she takes the moment to roll her head back to rest it on his shoulder in return. It's quick and meant as an encouraging response to his words. Pepper doesn't shift her regard from him for a moment; he has her fullest attention in the explanation. Nodding her head slowly, she makes a soft noise of understanding. "I see." It does take a few heartbeats for her to digest it all, but there is that look that she truly does. Reaching for the bowl of grapes, she takes one more off the vine, pops it into his mouth before handing him the whole bowl. "Do you think you can teach Friday something like that? To extrapolate and predict?"
Tony Stark	Sighing contentedly, Tony seems to luxuriate for the moment in just having Pepper in his arms, and it seems, at least briefly, that his mind will drift away from business. Briefly. "I'm not sure," he says, opening his mouth to accept the grape and chewing it thoughtfully. "I'd need to unlock what is in a bit of the nature of the human mind, right?" He reaches out to take the bowl of grapes, but leaves the other arm around Pepper, seemingly at a loss for how to manage the situation. The grapes, for the moment, are the loser. "I could program in all of the data, I suppose, of the patterns that the bad guys could take, and then let Friday determine the most likely location, but that does not necessarily factor in her position. Hmmm." He pauses for a moment, letting himself lean a bit more into Pepper, before he nods. "I should get one of the kids and hook them up to the wave scrambler, and map the neurons as they play and then feed it into Friday."
Pepper Potts	Pepper frowns, her expression dubious as she adds, "Maybe not one of the 'kids'. It sounds," and she shakes her head. "Never mind." One never knows what Tony will latch onto and what he'll honestly let go, and here and now is no exception. She can usually tell by the gleam in those deep brown eyes, and for the moment? There are perhaps other things that he's thinking about, in the here and now. She enjoys the contact, those green eyes keeping her attention on that handsome face, even if the beard is showing hints of grey. "I think we'll just keep it in games. You're aware of Friday's limitations and you balance her. No surprises, and I like that." Pepper reaches for one of the grapes for herself, "We'll just stay out of the human mind."
Tony Stark	An eyebrow arches. "It sounds...man? Crazy?" Tony watches Pepper, his face serious, as his fingers move to tickle at the side of the ribs. "As insane as a man flying around the world in a titanium suit with rockets in his shoes?" Tony laughs. "The kind of crazy that got me where I am today?" He is laughing, and then finally shakes his head. Despite holding the bowl, after Pepper claims her own grape he leans in and opens his mouth again. "I'm going to keep it clean. As much as Friday is begging to do it, I am /not/ going to train her to shoot virtual zombies."
Pepper Potts	"Dangerous," Pepper supplies easily, the word still something of a lilt. To know her, however, it still holds that slightly disapproving tone, that 'please let's not consider it' sound. "And yes, just as." Isn't that something they'd discussed earlier, how he was going to start pulling back, if only a little? "And it wasn't all 'crazy' that got you were you are today," she reminds. Leaning in, she whispers, "I did help." Brows do rise again, and she leans back, searching his face to see if he's joking or not. The grape remains uneaten, and is given up to the snacking Tony. "She is? I .. I'm not sure how I feel about that."
Tony Stark	"Also dangerous. But I prefer crazy. It doesn't seem to imply a shortened life span." Tony leans a bit more into Pepper. "You know, if I could find a way to teach an AI to anticipate things better than I could, I wouldn't need to pilot the suit as often. I could..." He thinks for a moment. "Not at that grand of a scale, of course, but you know, I could replace myself." He laughs softly at her whisper, and gives her a sideeye. "Enabler." With the grape popped into his mouth, Tony rolls it around with his tongue for a moment. "She just wanted to have some fun with the kids. I told her no, because as I've always said, video games rot the brain." He chomps on the grape, grinning as he lets the juice flow down his throat. "Just like drugs, rock and roll, and sex."
Pepper Potts	Pepper shakes her head, her nose wrinkling; the expression highlighting those cheekbones and freckles, "You are irreplaceable. Even with yourself. I'd know the difference." Let's not take that as a challenge, shall we? Her smile brightens at his laugh and the single-worded response, nodding. "Just imagine what that brain could have been like without it all?" Not necessarily the drugs, he'd never been part of that scene, thankfully, but exchange alcohol? "Scary." Still, Pepper tempers it by leaning in to press her lips against his, even briefly. When she releases, she doesn't move her face too far away, "But you wouldn't be you." The man she'd loved for so long.
Tony Stark	Tony's eyebrow arches, but then falls as soon as she says not to take it as a challenge. "Spoilsport." His considers her comment, tilting his head in thought. "Without it at all, let's see." He runs his fingers slowly up along her spine as he continues to cradle the bowl of grapes. "I suppose I could have accomplished higher ambitions. Been wealthier," a tilt of his head, "More loved around the world," he tilts his head the other way, "Even /more/ heroic," he says, straightening his head, looking into Pepper's eyes. "One thing I know, I couldn't have possibly done any better in the partner department." He gives her just a moment to absorb the comment before he leans in for a more substantive kiss than before.
Pepper Potts	Pepper whistles softly, "Scary thought." As it is, obviously, Tony Stark is a household name for his part in the Avengers, for Iron Man, and, well, Stark Industries is a powerhouse. How can one //not// see Stark Tower? It stands tall amongst the other historical buildings in the City. He's rarely out of the news for something or other, whether it's because of a new offering, or a red carpet event.. His words, however, have the desired effect. There's that smile again, relighting upon her face, bringing with it a certain glow. "No, no you couldn't," she agrees lightly, teasingly. The kiss is answered as she leans in, reaching blindly for that bowl of grapes to set it behind them on the counter. It's so good to have him home.. and for the moment, however brief, all to herself. //That// is rare.
Pepper Potts	***** Night falls upon the City that Never Sleeps. The lights below are bright in the evening's air, the lights of the Empire State building illuminates the expanse of balcony. Thunderstorms are driving through, however; the rain beats down, with the occasional rumble accompanied by bolts of lightning pass. The sounds of the storm can be heard within the Penthouse, by choice, as Pepper hasn't turned up the sound baffling of the floor to ceiling glass walls. Seated on the couch with her legs tucked under her, she is dressed comfortably; the loose fitting tank top exchanged for a more form fitting one, and the yoga pants for something a little looser. It accentuates her waif-like, toned figure. Red hair is loose, hanging over her shoulders as she leans over her laptop, a cup of tea steeping on the side. On the screen, there is a decoration program running, with links to furniture, paint swatches and the like. Something is getting a makeover?