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

[letmetakeaselfie]

"3,4,5,6 of spades... Jack, Queen, King of hearts." Sorry, he kind of snuck up and won that hand. He smiles sweetly as he shows her his cards and gathers up the rest to shuffle. "You're keeping score, right, J?"

"Nice try, sir, but Ms. Potts and yourself agreed that this was to be a practice hand only."

Oops, he just got told. He's going to drink the rest of his drink through the straw while shuffling now.

[efficacy]

Pepper gives a small sound caught between a scoff and a grumble, frowning as she discards hers and picks up her glass instead, taking a healthy sip to soothe the sting. Like Tony, she despises losing in anything. "That's right, you tell him, JARVIS."

[letmetakeaselfie]

"I really did forget," he protests, though that could easily be the alcohol speaking. He taps his ankle against her thigh once, having forgotten where it ended up, as he begins dealing a fresh hand. "It's on for real now though." And he already wants another drink. That's not good, probably.

[efficacy]

"Uh-huh," Pepper returns with a note of wry disbelief, though the hint of a smile indicates it's all good. She drains the last sip from her own glass, humming as she sets it back down. "Yeah it is, and this time you'd better be prepared to suck it."

[letmetakeaselfie]

He laughs a little raucously at that, shaking his head. "How much are you going to judge me if I just bring the vodka bottle over here?" He's real sick of getting up and he needs the liquid courage right now. He tends to think it makes him better to be around, honestly.

[efficacy]

"A lot. A whole lot of judging, to be honest," she retorts dryly, trying unsuccessfully to tamp down on the slanted smile, more of a smirk. "So maybe you'd better bring the rest of that sparkling wine, too."

[letmetakeaselfie]

Tony adjusts the stock pile before getting up one last time. The music seems to have progressed into some easier tunes. The Eagles and the like. He comes back a second later with the juice, the vodka and the wine held against his chest. He carefully deposits the fake champagne in front of her, and the juice in the middle, already topping up his glass as he sits back down. Now he has everything he needs. Good company, a fun game... He smiles at her then, unbridled affection really.

"Judge away, Ms. Sparkling Wine."

[efficacy]

"Don't mock, it's rude," she chides playfully as she pours herself a glass of said wine and nothing else, focusing on her task to evade that warm look of his that's burrowing right under her skin. "You may start, since you apparently won the practice round..."

[letmetakeaselfie]

"Not mocking," he protests, already starting his turn at her behest however. He puts an Ace in the discard and realizes they never established house rules. "Is Ace low or low and high?"

[efficacy]

"Low only," she supplies, rearranging her own cards into order. "More challenging that way." Thankfully, she has a slightly more promising hand this time around; she wasn't kidding earlier, it's going down now!!

[letmetakeaselfie]

"Oh, alright. I see how it is." Tony plucks a new card and sighs, rearranging his cards too as once again his leg finds hers under the table. He already has three of a kind and possibly a run if he gets lucky enough, but he's competitive enough to push himself fully into this, tipsy or not.

[efficacy]

Pepper shifts her own leg in response, ostensibly stretching a little and making herself more comfortable, but really it's just to give her an excuse to press into the touch of his leg better.

"Ever play the strip version?" The words are out of her mouth before her brain can actually process them, biting her tongue as she stares down at her cards. "...Well, that was not what I was supposed to say." So what did she mean to say?? She doesn't even know. This is why she doesn't drink.

[letmetakeaselfie]

Oh. God. Did those words just happen? His breath stutters a little at the press of her leg against his, solid and warm and pleasant. His face feels hot from drinking, which can only mean he should grab for his glass now, right?

"Well, yeah. In my wilder days." He's certainly not about that in his current circle of friends. "Can you imagine it now? My abs would just get jealous and leave me." The tiniest of smug little smiles edges into the corner of his mouth to stay as the glass gets put down again.

What was she supposed to say? He never asked back and now he's dying to know, but somehow questions like that only seem invasive when he directs them. From her it was endearing, actually.

[efficacy]

Pepper purses her lips and raises a brow at the abs comment, tamping down on any flights of fancy it elicited in her with slightly blushing cheeks. Wetting her lips, she discards a useless card and pulls a fresh one, latching on the subject with a bit of gratefulness he didn't think to ask what did she actually meant to say -- she honestly couldn't tell.

"Strip poker happened a few times in college. Yale mathletes knew how to party," she adds wryly, smirking. "But someone always ended up counting the cards despite the rules forbidding it, it was a mess."

[letmetakeaselfie]

He has to laugh. Ah, nerds. His people. "I was like, twelve in college so I wasn't invited to the fun parties." He mostly just hung out with Rhodey and studied way too much, spoilers. Usually simultaneously. What an innocent time in his life it had been really, in comparison to the raucous coed experience painted in any movie. "Are you suggesting we should kick our game up a notch?" Tony asks with the straightest face he can manage at the moment, his own brow shooting way up.

[efficacy]

"Mm, that would put a damper on things. But at least you were saved from the terrible decisions young people tend to make in college." The question garners him a quick, somewhat startled look before she returns her gaze to her cards, bringing her free hand up in front of her mouth as she coughs delicately.

"Um, no," she denies, but it's not entirely convinced. Lips pursing speculatively, she thinks about it for a beat, a sudden bout of impishness coursing through her. Or maybe it's just the alcohol. "I mean, that would probably be making it a little too challenging..." The quick glance she gives him looks decidedly that; challenging, goading even.

[letmetakeaselfie]

"I just pushed off the terrible decisions until after," he points out, shuffling cards around in his hand needlessly. God. He meets her gaze and it's like a livewire -- he needs to stop falling into these traps. "Don't tell me you're scared, Potts." No, with the way his breathing picks up that's definitely him.

[efficacy]

"What would I have to be scared of?" she questions innocently as she too shuffles her cards, completely and totally bluffing. Her heart is hammering like crazy in her chest, a weird mixture of anticipation and dread prickling at her skin. Tomorrow, she'd remind herself yet again as to why she didn't drink.

[letmetakeaselfie]

"Nothing," he answers, too openly. He never wants her to have to fear anything while they're together. That's a partner thing, right? Tony's doubting himself more and more with each pleasant burn of vodka. "...I hope for the sake of those Mathlete's blood pressure you never lost." Okay, maybe mostly his blood pressure. He draws a card though he hadn't meant to do that. He discards it right after, wasting his turn.

[efficacy]

"I was one of the few people actually trying to play by the rules, so how do you think I did?" she replies on a slight laugh that borders on a giggle. In other words, yeah, she'd lost -- blushing a little at the admittance when the words actually catch up with her brain. God, she's actually tipsy. She doesn't even notice his blunder with the cards, too focused on her own; or looking like she is, at least.

[letmetakeaselfie]

Oh, god. His eyes track over her body before he can stop himself, mouth drying out but it's not because he wants a drink this time. "Lucky Mathletes." Tony looks away when he realizes he's acting like a creep. He's not supposed to objectify Pepper, they're partners. Even if they are pretending to date, it's just-- Tony swallows, shaking his head. "I know you can go down. Stop stalling." His eyes jump back up, not even connecting how wrong that sounded he's so frustrated with his own hand.

[efficacy]

"You didn't lose anything much. Like, literally," she says as if to comfort him, re-arranging her cards without making much sense of them. Dear lord what is she saying? Why is the saying? She needs to be stopped.

Encouraged by the alcohol, Pepper's unedited, instant reaction is a cross between a scoff of playful dismay and a snort of laughter, goggling at him incredulously. "Excuse--" Oh, wait. That's... yeah, totally not what he meant at all. "Never mind," she goes on a bit apologetically, more laughter burbling at the back of her throat as she discards a two of diamonds and snatches up the nine of hearts Tony abandoned in the discard pile previously.

[letmetakeaselfie]

"I really doubt that," he sends right back, equally without thinking. And god, her laugh. He's laughing too, in no time at all. "That was it, right?"

He draws a card and has to blink at it a few times. Did he really just get that lucky. "Uh-oh, too slow." He lays out his cards, all four 7s and 8,9,10 of clubs. He gestures for her hand and shakes his head. "Come on, lay 'em on me."

[efficacy]

Pepper makes a slight moue of disgruntlement as she takes a look at Tony's hand and, with a slightest of sighs, lays them out. All she has are three 5s and 7, 8, 9 of hearts.

"This game wasn't such a fun idea, after all," she says with a slight sniff, draining the last gulp from her glass.

[letmetakeaselfie]

Usually he'd throw this back in her face. That was a good hand, he just got lucky though and he knows it. And for some reason he feels... bad. He's never felt bad for winning before. His toes curl against her leg, eyebrows knitting together and god -- he's drunk, isn't he? She's right, this was a terrible idea.

"Sorry. I'm... out of practice." With fun.