penistower | He made some bad investments.

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He made some bad investments.

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.

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It's hard to hide the instant disappointment he feels, but he recovers quickly, nodding. "Sure, why not?" His eyes run idly across her back as she turns away, shifting until he's comfortable once more. She'll have to pry him out of this bed when she gets back, if that's even her intention. She's not an easy read, though it only serves to intrigue him more.

Pepper steps into the bathroom to wash her face before locating the tablets, slipping one in her mouth and taking another with her. Padding back into the bedroom, she hands the tablet in her hand to Tony before rounding the bed and climbing back on, grabbing her bottle. She's not really any more inclined on being up and about than Tony seems to be, not when her head is still pounding. Setting the bottle on the night stand on her side of the bed once she's washed the pill down, Pepper flops down on her side with a sigh, facing him, hands tucked under her cheek.

"If anyone comes knocking in the next few hours, I'm gonna let you handle them on your own," she says, closing her eyes for a moment.

Tony takes the pill with a grateful little nod, unconsciously mimicking her by swallowing it with a sip of water then depositing the bottle on the bed. And furthermore when he stretches out on his side facing her. He chuckles faintly, rubbing his cheek against the pillow in a drowsy, contented way.

"JARVIS can take this one." God she's cute. Without thinking, he reaches out, sweeping some errant hair off her face and tucking it behind her ear.

Her eyes open slowly at the tender gesture, a little shiver running down her spine when his fingers brush against the shell of her ear. Their previous nap ended with them at perhaps a bit too close quarters, but she'd really like to drowse a bit longer. Sliding one hand across the space in between them, she brushes her fingers against his a bit experimentally, smiling softly.

"I'd really like to just..." Her eyes close before fluttering open partway again after a few seconds, an extremely extended blink. "Sleep a bit longer and then maybe order some pizza."

That's the thing to do with hangovers, right? It's been a while since she'd had to think about that, but she's pretty sure that's the common practice.

His heart picks up when her hand touches his, and yet... Carefully and deliberately, he laces their fingers, letting their hands rest between them on the bed. His thumb strokes the back of her hand and he too shuts his eyes. "You read my mind." Though he's worried for how they might wake up, he can't be bothered to change anything about the scene. After two awkward boners in one day, what's one more?

With a small smile, Pepper squeezes his hand gently before drifting off easily. Predictably, they do not stay where they fell asleep -- at least she doesn't. A few hours (probably) later, she wakes slowly to find herself on her side tucked against Tony, their still joined hands sandwiched a bit awkwardly in between their fronts, legs tangled. She's slid down enough for Tony's chin to rest on top of her head, her cheek in turn pressed against Tony's chest, the quiet whir of the arc reactor humming in her ear. Somehow, in all its intimacy and affection, this is almost worse than the sleepy groping they'd done previously.

But Pepper is still groggy enough not to think on it too closely, shutting her eyes again and drowsing while waiting for Tony to wake.

He wakes all at once, as normal, this time, moments before he feels Pepper begin to rouse. After waking next to her three times, he has a feel for her slow waking process and he finds it quite pleasant to stay as still as he can and wait for her to come around. His fingers tighten in hers though they're long numb, hoping she doesn't notice his heart pick up speed under her ear.

Pepper draws in a deep breath as she starts waking up properly, squeezing his hand back as she stretches just a little. Humming, she pulls back somewhat to rub her eyes with her free hand, a smile audible in her still slightly sleepy voice when she murmurs, "Pizza time?"

Best to just act like there was nothing out of the ordinary in waking up entangled like this for the third time in a fairly short time.

His heart stutters anew, but he finds himself nodding before he's processed the words, leaning in a little unconsciously. "Always."

She shifts a little on the pillows so they're on eye level again, fingers still laced with his. "That's good, because I'm... starving," she smiles, a bit drowsy still in that sweet, warm way.

Oh are they just, not talking about this? He can't exactly complain, eyes sparkling as they gaze deeply into hers. "Okay, but very important: what kind of pizza?"

That's exactly what they're going to do. Or not do. She arches a brow slightly at the question, lips pursing briefly to hold a smirk of amusement at bay. Not very successfully. "Pepperoni... and pineapple." That's right, fight her.

"Did you hear that, J?" he asks, still too pleasantly lethargic to bother himself with getting up and ordering pizza himself. What if he just... No, no. They're not drunk anymore, he has no excuse. But Pepper's hand is still solid in his with no sign of letting go. Does that mean something? "And by that I mean, that sounds delicious."

JARVIS takes their order and delivers a suitably smug quip, almost like he knows exactly what's going on here.

Pepper's eyes roll up as if giving JARVIS a pointed look at his little quip, before meeting Tony's gaze again. "He's picking up your bad habits," she accuses, albeit with an undertone of playfulness. Also: "I thought for sure you'd object to pineapple."

"What, I'm not allowed to like something sweet every once in a while?" He bites the inside of his lip, dreading the moment he gets up already, but his bladder is nagging him and it's not going to get any better. Impulsively, he leans foward, lips brushing her temple in a ghostly touch before dropping her hand abruptly and sitting up. He wasn't supposed to do that and he knows it. Tony flees before she can comment on it one way or another, trying to ignore the way his joints stiffen up, causing him to walk a little woodenly on his way to the ensuite.

Once he's alone with his thoughts again, he wonders what the hell is happening to him. Only yesterday he was petrified to share his space with Pepper and now all he can think about are ways to get closer. Not that he's exactly been unsuccessful in that vein. But is she only indulging him? For the sake of the cover story. That's what he should be thinking about and yet he's... distracted. Go figure.

"No, I just--" Her response cuts off when he leans in to brush his lips to her temple, downright fleeing into the bathroom afterward. Pepper stares after him silently, chewing on her lip as she wonders more or less the same thing as Tony. This isn't what they should be doing. It's all a ruse, anyway, it's stupid to picture this could be anything else. Right? These instances aren't making it any better. Silly drunken make-outs and sleepy snuggles. They need to stop before something happens they can't take back.

With a sigh, Pepper turns on her back and stares up at the ceiling for a beat, before rolling off the bed entirely, taking her half-empty water bottle with her.

"I'll be in the kitchen," she calls loud enough to be heard through the bathroom door, but doesn't wait for an answer. She beelines for the coffee machine; there can never be too much coffee. Maybe a cup before their pizza arrives will snap some sense back into her head.

He grunts out a reply, though he's pretty sure she's already out of earshot. He washes his face cursorily, moving back into the room for another wardrobe change. He decides on sweats this time, pretty confident they're not going to do anything strenuous moving forward. After some hesitation, he decides on his vintage Captain America t-shirt, mostly because it's so comfy. She can make fun of him if she wants.

"Coffee?" That's an excellent idea tbh, he's just going to nudge in for a cup himself.

Pepper's standing in front of the machine, watching it percolate its last without really seeing anything, caught up in her thoughts about their situation that's starting to slyly get more complex than she ever intended. She startles a little at Tony's appearance, not having heard his footsteps, but she recovers quickly, nodding with a small hum.

She takes a small step to the side, distancing herself under the guise of better seeing all of him though every cell in her wants to remain close. That's exactly the problem, currently. How could she possibly leave his choice of t-shirt alone, though? Smirking, she teases, "Wow. Careful, your fanboy is showing."

Edited 2016-02-21 21:04 (UTC)

The material is thin, and the arc reactor's light shows through the shield in a way that was way too nerdy to possibly ignore. He tugs on the hem with one hand as he lifts the cup to his lips with the other. "Pretty good, right?" Stepping a little to the left so she can gather her coffee without moving back into his space, he shrugs. "The Rescue ones were all sold out."

It is cool and entirely nerdy. She breathes a small laugh, shaking her head as she fixes her own cup, giving Tony one of those you're not even serious looks. "Oh, stop."

"Do you think they'll start making our merchandise together? Like Iron Man and Rescue or like, Rescue featuring Iron Man." Pepper probably doesn't know that he's been a seriously outspoken advocate for Black Widow and Rescue merch in certain circles. Like really loud. "I like that. What do you think, need a sidekick?"

Pepper has to really focus on the task of taking a steady sip of coffee as she listens to Tony prattle on, the uncontrollable smile that wants to spread to her lips hindering the act some. Once her cup is set down and her mouth empty, she gives it free reign, glancing over at Tony and leaning her palms against the edge of the counter.

"Sidekick, hm?" she questions, eyes sparkling. "So, what, I do the heavy lifting while you provide comic relief?"

"Well... yeah. Isn't that basically what we do already?" He smiles easily, tracking their proximity though he tells himself he doesn't care, setting down his coffee so his hand is free to move a little closer to hers. "They still don't make enough Rescue stuff. You laugh, but I looked." For reals.

"You looked?" she echoes on a tiny laugh, fondly amused and... oddly touched. "Why?" she asks softly, even though she tells herself not to, distantly realizing they're once more bridging the gap that had sprung in between them -- or one she'd tried to create, rather.

"...Why wouldn't I look?" His finger grazes hers accidentally as he leans a little closer to facilitate the conversation. And also to study her face. "Don't you ever... look?" For action figures, of course. Not... anything else. "I look for everybody's... stuff. But they make tons of Cap and Hulk -- what about the rest of us, right?"

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