I'm prepared for this ✫ I never shoot to miss

[letmetakeaselfie]

I've been here before
But always hit the floor
I've spent a lifetime running
And I always get away
But with you I'm feeling something
That makes me want to stay

Tony's heart is still beating fast, though it's been nearly an hour since his house was destroyed (yet again) by supervillains. Why his house? Why is it always him? He's not really feeling sorry for himself though, because for as much as he criticizes Fury, his plan really worked this time. His face-plate flips up as he pries off the left arm of his suit, indented dangerously close by one of those feisty Doom-bots. He flashes a wan smile over at Pepper, similarly battleworn. They really do work extraordinarily well together, he can't believe how he'd ever dismissed being partners before.

"Thanks for saving me - again." She really was good at that, and without her he'd most certainly not be standing right now. Though, yes, he is still lamenting his poor house. Oh well, easier repaired than he would be, probably.

Comments

[efficacy]

The more she comes around the more aware of his predicament she becomes, too. She'd noted it only as a sort of hazy afterthought before, as just a biological function that tends to happen-- but though she tries to doze some more, she can't quite manage it any longer, and thus the firm ridge pressing into her hip becomes an actual, fully formed concern. And it seems to turn all the more pressing as the moments pass by. O-oh. She's not sure how to handle this. Ignore it? Or move away from him? That doesn't appeal to her at all, though.

"...Am I making you uncomfortable?" she forges after a moment, a smile evident in her still somewhat sleepy tone.

[letmetakeaselfie]

He laughs, just one bark of a nervous thing, but he too finds no reason to move away. Uncomfortable. Is she making fun of him? Usually, but this feels -- different. Kind of good different. "That's not exactly the word I'd use," he admits, voice a bit husky unintentionally, and lips close by her ear.

[efficacy]

"No? Then what word would you use?" she can't help but counter on a tiniest breath of laughter, playfully teasing; though the shiver that courses down her spine at his low voice in her ear is definitely no joking matter.

[letmetakeaselfie]

Heat rises to his face at that, though he can't say it's surprising. Pepper always challenges him, it's something he actually appreciates about her the most. "Compromised." It's almost instant, and said with his usual unplanned, blurting manner. When he really thinks over what that word means, it probably wasn't one he was supposed to use. It feels like a serious sort of reveal, though certainly she must know already how attracted he is to her?

[efficacy]

It's kind of an odd word to use to describe the situation; if one doesn't look under the surface. Pepper can't help but do just that, somehow knowing he doesn't mean just now, this moment and this position. It goes further than that. Her heart skips, before fluttering wildly in her chest like a caged bird. Unbidden, some color rises to her cheeks, too, though she doesn't lift her head off his chest to reveal that. Her eyes are open now though, her fingers curling gently further into the soft cotton fisted in her grasp. "Is that... a bad thing?" she finally asks softly and quietly, a tiny bit hesitantly, after a long moment.

[letmetakeaselfie]

His skin prickles faintly at the feeling of her tugging at his shirt a bit, biting into his lip for how that doesn't help his situation at all. It's pleasant though, and it is encouraging too how she still isn't moving away; but then that question comes. Even Tony knows answering will put himself out there all too baldly, and he really is terrified of being let down by this... whole predicament. If she's asking at all, though, logic would dictate she may be a little compromised herself. He sighs, his hand gently moving up her back to lightly tangle in her hair. It seems like a long time passes in silence, and he hopes she doesn't think he's ignoring her, but for once he has to carefully sculpt a reply, knowing how delicate a situation it truly is.

"I don't know," he begins, sounding more than a little frustrated with himself. He knows it isn't bad which is why he's quick to gloss over his first statement, but he doesn't know if it's good, exactly. In context. It's complicated. "What I do know is... that I like spending time with you. We can still hang out now that... all of this is over, right?" He pulls back just the tiniest bit to try and catch her eye, though maybe this particular moment wasn't a good time to have this conversation -- he never was good at timing.

[efficacy]

She breathes a silent sigh when his hand tangles softly in her hair, her eyes fluttering shut for a second at the wonderful sensation. His silence doesn't bother her, knowing it isn't a simple question; she wouldn't be certain how to answer it truthfully, either. Which makes putting him on the spot like that a little mean, perhaps, but she is interested in gauging his viewpoint. Physical attraction is all well and good, but it isn't enough in the long run... not that she's consciously thinking about the long run. But. In case, or something.

Only once she's fairly sure the impromptu blush on her cheeks has receded does she tip her head up, resting her chin on his chest even if it makes it a little hard to catch his gaze and smiling widely. "Of course we can. I'd like that."

[letmetakeaselfie]

When she fixes that smile on him, he suddenly feels like his heart is swelling and might burst though his scientific mind helpfully supplies that that would be highly improbable. None of that ever seems to matter around Pepper when he knows what he feels, as scary as it is. His thumb grazes her cheek, completely forgetting about his problem below the waist in favor of how right this feels. This is a little extreme for 'hanging out' though, maybe. Not that she seems to mind.

"Okay," he says lamely, swallowing past a lump in his throat. "Cool."

[efficacy]

Her lids flutter a little at the tender touch to her cheek, lips curving in a gentler smile now. "Cool," she echoes with a tinge of warm amusement in her tone. A moment of silence passes before she forges on, trailing off soon after. "So..." Now what? They're both wide awake-- Tony in more than one way. It's funny how she completely forgot his issue for a while, there. "Um. Breakfast?"

[letmetakeaselfie]

His breath stutters at her suggestion, blinking a few times before he finally gives up a nod. "Okay. Room service?" It's a bit hopeful, he's not exactly looking to be in a crowd of people right now. While he waits for her reply, he finds himself yet again falling into her eyes like some cheesy 90s love interest.

[efficacy]

"Sounds good," Pepper answers belatedly with a gentle smile, seeming as distracted staring into his eyes as he is hers. A long moment passes before she realizes this probably means she needs to move -- breathing a slight sigh, she reluctantly begins pulling back from Tony's warmth, rolling on her back and further to lean over the edge of the bed, looking for something.

"What would you like?" she asks, reaching out a hand and just about managing to drag the room service menu off the side table she'd left it last night with her fingertips, snatching it up with a triumphant little noise before flopping back on the bed next to him to peruse it.

[letmetakeaselfie]

He notes how reluctant she is to pull away and immediately feels validated, though once she does break away somehow his issue becomes that much more prominent. He rolls off to the other side of the bed, giving up a little groan as he sits up with his feet dangling over the edge. "Waffles. And bacon. Lots of bacon."

[efficacy]

"Okay," she says softly, glancing at his back at the groan and biting her lip. A beat later, she suggests, "You can have the shower first if you want it. I'll call our order in." Maybe that will calm down his... problem.

[letmetakeaselfie]

He flushes all over again, turning to catch her gaze over his shoulder though it's tempting to just run for the bathroom. "Hey thanks," he replies, getting up and shuffling his way across the room as fast as his body will allow anyway. He doesn't think about his robe or a change of clothes on his way past his suitcase, and in his hurry the door doesn't quite click shut behind him, still floating in the door frame. Tony throws his boxers and t-shirt in he vague direction of the hamper and hops into the shower stall without waiting for the water to heat up first. The initial blast of cold water gets a whimper from him, but his erection does wane a tiny bit.

By the time the water is warm, he realizes there will only be one way out of this, as had been the case too many mornings with Pepper before. He really can't in his life ever remember being so consumed by a woman. Not that his previous exploits have any bearing on the real world to be fair. He grasps his cock once he can put it off no longer, leaning back against the tile to keep himself up while images conjure themselves behind his eyelids. He feels bad thinking these things with her right in the other room, but surely she has to know how he's taking care of it.

Tony tries not to linger overmuch, but it's so tempting to let the fantasy drag on. Even if she says she wants to spend real time with him; even for how close they've gotten, he doesn't know what that means really. Is he being friend-zoned? Would he even know what that felt like if he were? All he knows is how much he doesn't want to go back to the way things were, and thinking back to making out on his couch he's not sure if he could just be friends either. Even though admittedly she had been a good one to him this past couple of weeks. The best, even.

He comes violently and almost catches himself by surprise, coating his hand and the tile in sticky evidence before it's stolen by the spray. "Pepper," he cries in relief, forgetting about volume control or echoing tiles in his moment of need. He makes quick work of pulling himself together after that, delighted to rid himself of the encumberance once and for all. (Until next time)

Cursorily washing himself and running some conditioner through his hair, he fjords out into the steamy fog of the room to find a towel. He rubs himself almost dry for a change, though he doesn't really bother with his hair which does drip almost enough to make up for it. It's gotten too long and he isn't great at dealing with it. He rushes through his morning routine, ending with brushing his teeth and securing the towel around his waist before making his way back out into the room. Running a hand back over his hair, he stops dead in his tracks when he sees her, realizing his mistake. He knows it shouldn't be a big deal, they've been living in close quarters for so long he forgets, but the towel doesn't cover much and now that he's locked eyes with her he feels frozen in place.

[efficacy]

Pepper gives a quick, small smile in return as Tony begins making his way toward the shower before sitting up, eyeing the menu in her hand cursorily before sitting up and picking up the phone on the bedside table, letting her legs dangle off the bed. It isn't until a moment after room service picks up that Pepper realizes the splash of water against tile comes through a little too clearly from the bathroom, glancing over her shoulder to see the door ajar-- not enough to give her a view to the shower, but definitely enough to hear the way the water hits the tile haphazardly as he moves about in the stall. She blinks at the door a few times, losing track of her thoughts for a couple of seconds before turning her head back quickly as if she'd been caught doing something naughty, picking up the conversation with room service.

She gets through most of their order when she catches a noise through the rainfall of water; a soft one, and she thinks she imagined it. But then it happens again, and this time she definitely recognizes it for what it is. Caught off guard, she glances back toward the bathroom, wide-eyed and lips shaped into a circle. Oh god. Is Tony...? No really, is he in there, doing...? Yes, yes he is. She realizes the poor room service person is practically yelling to get her attention again and she stammers an apology, snapping her head back forward as a fierce blush overtakes her face, blundering her way through the rest of the order. It's not that she minds or is uncomfortable or anything, it's a reasonable solution to his issue. It's just--

"Pepper." She sucks in a sharp breath and squeaks out a hasty thanks and goodbye to room service, clumsily throwing down the receiver. Her cheeks are flaming now as that cry echoes in her ears, a quiver rippling across her belly. The realization hits home in a hot wave of undeniable excitement; Tony was in the shower touching himself while thinking about her. Just as she thinks she's calmed down and the flush on her cheeks receded, Tony returns and she flushes all over again, spying an errant droplet dropping from his hair and sliding down his chest. Oh, no, this is too unreal. She swallows thickly, throat suddenly dry. God, he's gorgeous.

"H-hey," she squeezes out after a prolonged moment of staring, pitchy and strangely breathless, heart thudding furiously in her chest. That relief-drenched shout comes back to haunt her, her pulse fluttering wildly at her throat. "Good... shower?"

[letmetakeaselfie]

She seems nervous, which is making him nervous, pushing a hand back through his hair though it does nothing -- the thick strands falling back forward over his forehead. "Sure," he says uncertainly, glancing from the phone and back to her face. Maybe her unease has nothing to do with him, he always was too quick to put things in his own orbit, something he knew could definitely be a flaw. "Everything okay on your end?" Concern mixed with self-consciousness here as he tilts his head and keeps a hand on the fold of his towel to prevent a wardrobe malfunction. That's just what he needs on a morning such as this.

Thinking that he should probably remedy that, he reluctantly breaks eye contact to turn away and stoop over his luggage, searching for clothes to wear for the day. He didn't pack much so it takes him a while to put something together, trying to keep in mind that they may not actually leave the room today. Which suits him fine, really. He's not looking forward to returning to reality and rebuilding his house yet again.

[efficacy]

"Yeah. Sure," Pepper's quick to reassure though her voice is still slightly off in pitch, clearing her throat gently to get rid of that and trying to snap herself out of it. She blows out a silent breath of relief when he turns to look for something to wear; maybe once he's no longer half-naked, her heart will stop trying to bust through her ribs. She glances away, realizing she's still staring at all that bare skin. "Food should be here soon, I ordered a bit of everything. I'll just, uh..." She turns her back to him and slips her legs off the side of the bed, slowly getting to her feet. "Get cleaned up myself."

[letmetakeaselfie]

His skin prickles, feeling her eyes on his back. It doesn't bother him -- quite the opposite really. He's grateful that he took care of his issue already, in fact, pulling out a casual buttondown and some linen trousers.

"Miss you already," he quips, flashing her a bright smile over his shoulder before stepping into a pair of boxers and letting his towel fall to the ground in one graceful motion. It's meant as a joke, but he really will miss her, it's become impossible to ignore the way his chest constricts each time she leaves a room.

[efficacy]

It's clearly a joke -- one of those glib quips Tony is so fond of -- but it still gets her somewhere behind her breastbone all the same, a persistent blush pinking her cheeks once more much to her mild chagrin. She barely has the presence of mind to smile back, somewhat shyly-- this whole situation has thrown her off worse than she thought could ever happen, which should be a clear indicator of something. She shuffles into the bathroom as swiftly as she can without making it seem like she's hurrying, careful not to even glance over as Tony pulls on his boxers. The bathroom door closes with a click as the towel drops to the floor.

Minutes later, Pepper steps out of the shower stall, skin pink from hot water and her hair pulled up into a loose bun on the back of her head to keep it from getting wet -- and realizes something as she pulls down the last clean towel they have. She'd been so flustered she didn't bring anything to change into with her into the bathroom.

"Damn it," she hisses under her breath as she rubs herself down quickly with the towel before wrapping it around her tightly. She smacks her lips in displeasure at the sight; these towels really aren't very big, the white terry cloth barely hiding her backside. Well, she doesn't have any other choice. Apparently it's half-naked day at their temporary residence. Inhaling a steadying breath, she presses a hand to the knot of the towel, just in case, and pushes the door open, the cooler air of the room proper feeling nice on her damp skin.

"I forgot my..." she trails off, beelining for her bag and extremely carefully bending at the knees to avoid flashing him anything while rifling through the options with her free hand.

[letmetakeaselfie]

He watches after her longingly as he pulls on his undershirt next, her hasty retreat allowing him to do so openly. The food comes as she's wrapping up and Tony collects the food from the bellboy, again giving him a hefty tip before opting to turn on the TV and once again crawl into bed to eat. It feels good to be lazy -- but not to watch his ruined house star in the morning news. He grimaces through a bite of pancake, not even noticing when she comes back into the room. At least, not until he hears her voice.

Turning his head before he processes the words, Tony's eyes catch on every open patch of skin involuntarily, his throat going dry and his gaze darkening in a telltale way. In times like these, it really would be handy not to wear every expression so plainly on his face. "...Don't mind me. I'm watching myself on the news." In a gentlemanly fashion he turns back to the screen though it's the last place he wants to look right now. Playfully, he even cups one hand over the eye nearest her so he can't see through his periphery.

[efficacy]

Butterflies take flight in her belly at that dark look he gives her before evading his gaze, a light shiver rippling down her spine. She casts a furtive glance over, smiling slightly when he covers his eye, using his palm like a blinder. Refocusing on the clothes, she pulls out what she needs with her free hand, setting each item on her knee one by one; hiding the lacy panties quickly under the blouse despite Tony's gentlemanly discretion.

"Making sure they caught your good side?" she teases wryly, smirking a little; this more usual banter is working wonders with her composure, her equilibrium starting to return with it.

[letmetakeaselfie]

His eyes wander towards her voice out of habit, though his hand is a reminder to snap back on the television screen. "Are you saying I have a bad side?" It's instant, though maybe it cuts too close given how the morning is going. He doesn't have anything better to dismiss it with, so he lets it hang in the air.

[efficacy]

Change of clothes held against her chest with her free hand, Pepper rises from her perch with an almost impish smirk, padding back to the bathroom to get dressed.

"I'm sure you don't. That towel was only so big," she quips over her shoulder before disappearing inside and closing the door behind her softly, though she can feel her cheeks heating up again at her own impudence. Still, she can't quite stop smiling as she discards the towel and begins pulling on her clothes.

[letmetakeaselfie]

He doesn't drop his hand until the door clicks shut behind her, his mouth held open in disbelief -- an expression that's lost on her now. That was definitely flirting... right? He has the sinking suspicion that today is only going to get more confusing and not less. Sighing, he turns the news over in favor of cartoons and pours himself a cup of coffee out of the carafe they brought. Folding one leg under himself, he props himself up against the pillows and tries to wait patiently for her return.

[efficacy]

He doesn't have to wait long, the door opening again soon enough. She's brushed her hair but left it down, clad comfortably in black yoga pants and a blue, flowy shirt with a little pocket over one breast. Smiling as if that flirty little coda never took place, she comes over to inspect the breakfast cart, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"What're you watching now?" she asks idly as she grabs her plate -- a fluffy omelette with mushrooms and peppers -- and climbs carefully on the bed to eat, setting her coffee on the bedside table.