He made some bad investments.

[letmetakeaselfie]

After working with her at the Battle of New York, Tony had come to respect Rescue -- and the woman behind the suit, of course. But to say they were friends was a gross overshot. Pepper and he could get along. They both had tough shells and were ready equipped with all sorts of sarcasm and wit to deflect any unwanted attention. Because they were essentially Iron Man and Iron Woman, however, the press had their own ideas about the relationship between the pair.

Nick had phoned earlier to tell them about a recent threat, and words came out of his mouth that Tony was pretty sure he misheard. So he made the other man repeat them like, three times. But they didn't change. SHIELD wanted Rescue and Iron Man to shack up, publically. "Officially" so that when the bad guys came they'd have two heroes to contend with, but also so they'd think they were each other's weakness. Since they were only teammates, what could be the harm?

Before he knew it, a press release was set for the morning and Pepper Potts was on her way over to the Tower to move in. He had about a thousand rooms in the place, but if Dr. Doom did find his way inside they should be together just in case. It's all very -- sudden for a man who's never even had a girlfriend. And he still doesn't, but he has to convince the world he does. #Awkward.

"Welcome to Stark Tower, Ms. Potts. And please..."

"Wipe your feet," Tony interrupts JARVIS and his big, sweeping introduction, lifting his eyebrows as he watches her arrival. Should he help her with her stuff...? Probably. After a beat's hesitation, he moves to grab the larger of her two bags.

"Enjoy your stay," JARVIS corrects steadfastly, much to Tony's chagrin. But he offers up a meek little smile for her all the same.

Comments

[efficacy]

Pepper debates calling Nick Fury and demanding him to take this crazy idea of his back the entire elevator ride up, sighing as she shifts the strap of her duffelbag on her shoulder. There's no way this scheme actually has any merit -- are they really meant to pull this off? Really? Tony Stark, of all the people.

It's not that she dislikes the man, but he could be a handful. And he does have a few traits she doesn't always entirely appreciate. The elevator chimes faintly as it stops and Pepper's heart drops to the bottom of her stomach. She realizes suddenly she's never been this nervous in her life. But she pushes her nerves down where nobody can see them and straightens her spine as the doors slide open, revealing a very casually dressed Pepper Potts in a pair of jeans and a light jacket over her cotton blouse.

JARVIS at least is always a pleasure, but Pepper's smile turns tight at Tony's interjection.

"Thank you, JARVIS. Tony," she adds in far more neutral tone as she focuses on the man in question. She does murmur a slightly startled thanks when he unexpectedly takes one of her bags, feeling a little chastised for some reason. She should have worn heels instead of flats; half of her confidence comes from towering over people. She could use some of that self-assurance now, feeling a little lost as to how to proceed. She forces a smile that's almost equally as awkward as Tony's. "...So."

[letmetakeaselfie]

It's strange to see her like this, but he supposes he'll have to get used to it. He realizes then too that they're about the same height when she's out of her heels. "So..." He brings her bag to his room and sets it down inside to give her a chance to look around. "Can I get you... anything? Like, are you hungry or. Thirsty or. We could watch TV..." Yeah this is terrible. He worries his lip and looks nothing like that overconfident jerkbag he shows to the Avengers.

"Or I could just -- let you unpack? Yeah. That dresser's empty," he indicates as an afterthought.

[efficacy]

Oh, no. This is not at all how Pepper's used to seeing Tony. What's going on, here? He was never this awkward or unsure; it takes her aback, and for a moment she feels like the proverbial deer in the headlights, frozen and uncertain how to proceed. His tentativeness is only enhancing her own, and she tries to push some hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture -- except her hair's pulled back into a ponytail. She aborts the movement at her ear, awkwardly moving her hand to smooth back the dangling tail instead.

"Um, that's probably-- yes. I should," she stammers, clearing her throat a little and nodding, glancing briefly toward the dresser he indicates. "Do that first."

[letmetakeaselfie]

"Oh... Oh. Yeah. Then I'll--" He gestures to the door. "I'll leave you to that. If you need me, I'll be..." Oh god, where will he be. "In the workshop, probably. JARVIS can get you down there. Or there's a like, an intercom."

He looks confused, mostly because that's his default state. And then he disappears down the hall.

[efficacy]

"Right." She agrees with a nod, with such a level of attentiveness you'd think he just said something particularly insightful. "Good. Okay."

Pepper drops her face into her hands in dismay as soon as he's gone, groaning under her breath. What was that? How are they ever going to fool the rest of the world into thinking they're dating when they're this awkward and tongue-tied around each other?

"Get a grip," she orders herself irritably as she shrugs out of her jacket and starts to unpack her things mechanically, her thoughts elsewhere. Namely down in the workshop, or wherever Tony ended up going. She'd expected she was going to be deflecting smartass comments and rolling her eyes at his hubris through this whole ordeal, but apparently Tony Stark in private is a whole different person. It's weird, to say the least. She wonders if she should look for the pod...

Finally done with her task, she decides she can no longer avoid him without it coming across as obvious. Besides, they'll definitely never learn to deal with this situation if they actively stay out of each other's path, right? "JARVIS, would you mind...?"

[letmetakeaselfie]

"Not at all, Ms. Potts." If the AI sounds bemused, well. It's probably your imagination. Probably.

When Pepper arrives downstairs, Tony is immersed in some small-scale tinkering with one of his suits. He doesn't look up though he registers her steps immediatly. He's been living alone for over twenty years after all. "What can I do for you, Pepper?" he calls, devoting half his attention to her without looking away from the screens.

[efficacy]

Imagination, huh? Pepper has her suspicions about that.

She forges into the workshop with some careful caution, the glass door sealing shut behind her soundlessly. Glancing around curiously, she takes in the multitude of screens all over displaying varying information and the pieces of sophisticated machinery she couldn't hope to name. It's a tech geek's wet dream.

"I just thought I'd come see what you were up to, I guess. So, this is your playroom," she states rather than asks, eyes still roaming about the space. She wanders over to some of the screens to the side Tony isn't staring so intently at, touching one with a fingertip and watching the figures and sliders responding under her touch. She probably shouldn't touch Tony's stuff like this but she couldn't resist. "It's pretty impressive."

[letmetakeaselfie]

He freezes up when she touches the computer, but forces his way through it as he spins around in his chair. "It's also... very sensitive," he warns with a look, but doesn't try to remove her from the area. He trusts her, she's his partner -- that doesn't mean he's ever let anyone this close before. Especially a woman. In his inner sanctum? He would have balked at the thought before this mission. It's all a little... Beauty and the Beast for his tastes.

Dum-e rolls up behind her, weaving his pincer from side to side as though taking her in by scent or whatever senses robots have. Tony doesn't seem to find anything weird there and goes back to his bench before he can lose his place.

[efficacy]

Her lips pull into a smirk, torn between amusement and exasperation, as she pulls her hand away. "In other words, keep your hands to yourself."

She'd expected nothing less. She'd just been uncertain how long Tony would tolerate a veritable stranger (aren't they, really?) touching his stuff. Dum-e's soft whirring has her turning around, yelping a little in surprise at the sight.

"Oh--! God," she huffs, startled but not for long. Almost immediately, her lips start to twitch as she looks the bot up and down, a faintest trace of laughter in her tone when she finally speaks. "What... is this?"

[letmetakeaselfie]

The bot gives a little trilling sound, and Tony doesn't turn back around this time -- he's almost through. "He's a who. And his name is Dum-E." There's a beat, an audible smile. "I think he likes you."

[efficacy]

"Dummy?" she repeats a little questioningly, arching a brow even as she smiles at the robots reactions, reminding her a bit of a puppy. "He's very cute," she grins, reaching out to gently touch his pincer in greeting.

[letmetakeaselfie]

"Don't encourage him," Tony chides, though... okay, that's kind of adorable. He's just going to pretend he never saw that. "Did we want to... order some dinner?" He finishes up, shutting off the lamp on the benchand standing finally.

[efficacy]

Pepper acts like she didn't even hear Tony, continuing to interact with Dum-E without a care. Only when he wraps up his work and mentions dinner does she turn to regard him with a small smile, nodding.

"I could eat. Do you feel like anything specific?"

[letmetakeaselfie]

"Uhm.... How do you feel about Thai?" He ate too much pizza, and spicy noodles sounded like they could hit the spot for a change-up. Plus it made it sound like he was... cultured or something. Not that he cares what Pepper thinks of his pathetic bachelor life bc nah!!!

[efficacy]

She has to admit she is slightly impressed he didn't suggest pizza. Slightly. "I love Thai," she says promptly, her smile growing and gaining an edge of mischief, almost. "The hotter, the better."

[letmetakeaselfie]

"A woman after my own heart," he admits, gesturing for her to follow him back up the stairs. Now that he's over his initial awkwardness, it's almost... nice having someone else here. Like a little visit. As long as he forgot that this was a mission and that she didn't actually want to be here it wasn't quite as painful.

[efficacy]

Her lips twitch a little at the remark even as her heart gives an odd, tiny jump she puzzles over for a moment. She follows him without a protest a few steps behind, honestly a bit ashamed of herself to notice he has a really nice ass. Biting her lip, she quickly focuses on her own feet and hopes she's not blushing.

"We should probably talk about this whole... mission, at some point," she says, out of necessity as well as to remind herself why she's here in the first place.

[letmetakeaselfie]

Naturally, he's completely oblivious to the ogling, but her words send his heart plummeting straight through the basement. Could they just never talk about it? That would be better for his schedule.

"Yeah... you're right. Maybe after spicy noodles though." He's pulling up the menu on a tablet once they get to the kitchen.

[efficacy]

Pepper slides onto a high stool next to the kitchen island, idly drumming her fingers on the countertop. "All right," she agrees easily enough. Full stomach made for better mood, after all. "I hope you were serious about the spicy part." She arches a brow, maybe just a hint of a challenge in her voice.

[letmetakeaselfie]

"Three stars spicy...?" he puts out questingly, moving to grab himself a drink before he remembers himself. "Do you want a beer? Soda, water, juice, wine..." One thing he was well-stocked in was beverages. Not so much on everything else.

[efficacy]

"It'll do," Pepper says magnanimously after a moment, bobbing her head a little in agreement. She purses her lips in consideration at the offer; she's usually one to go for a glass of wine with dinner, but she's not opposed to switching things up every now and then. "Beer would be nice, thanks."

[letmetakeaselfie]

He nods, getting out two bottles of beer and opening them on the opener fridge magnet. Don't judge him and his life!! One is passed over to her as he scrolls on the tablet and slides that across the island for her to look at too. "I usually get this one." It's one with chicken and noodles and snap peas in a spicy peanut sauce.

[efficacy]

She hides a small smile. Sorry bro, she has to judge your bachelor lyfe!! just a little ok. Just a bit. Curling her fingers around the bottle and tipping the tablet her way with the other hand, she glances at his dish of choice and nods her approval. "Sounds good. I'll have the same." Pushing the tablet back, her lips curve into a faint smile.

"And I'm just going to assume my rich boyfriend will foot the bill," she remarks wryly, lifting the bottle to her lips to take a sip.

[letmetakeaselfie]

Freezing for a second, totally deer-caught-in-headlights, he realizes he's being ribbed and lets out an awkward laugh. "Yeah... Of course. Your rich... boyfriend." Just like that it really sinks in what they're doing here. It's more than weird, and he clears his throat to address JARVIS. "J, can you place that order for us?" He's still staring at her, perhaps a bit too wildly.

[efficacy]

Pepper looks slightly abashed at his reaction, but only for a moment. She waits silently for JARVIS' acknowledgement before speaking up.

"Too soon?" she asks with some of that same wryness in her tone, picking at the label on her bottle. She sighs a bit through her nose, lips thinning a little; this is why she thinks they need to talk about this. The assignment might be ridiculous, but if they're going to pull it off they should probably achieve some level of... familiarity with each other.