14121/After (not all of) the dust settles

After (not all of) the dust settles
Date of Scene:	13 February 2022
Location:	Conference Room - Helicarrier ODYSSEY
Synopsis:	Post-mission instructions and confessions.
Cast of Characters:	Iron Man, Pepper Potts

---

Iron Man has posed:
Not a bad deal, even if it is a little ugly on the ground. The first phase of Avengers/SHIELD/others mission was successful in that it got the electrical grid up, the water starting to hum, even if it has to be fine-tuned, and something of a trauma hospital functioning. Even if it can't take much, it's a start back on the path. For those that have returned, there is a debriefing, except for one who is never, ever around for yet another meeting. That's why he has employees; several thousand, in fact.

Once changed and having thrown some cold water on his face, Tony wanders back to the conference room, no longer dressed in the black, fitted clothing he keeps for the suit, but rather a sport jacket, a graphic t-shirt, and a pair of slacks. In hand, of course, is a glass of that very familiar light amber colored liquid.

"I can't believe they took the donuts away," is mumbled. Twisting around towards the door, Tony looks at it as if his look alone would summon donuts, at the very least. "I bet they got donuts."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Of course, since Tony wasn't going to make the meeting, it meant Pepper needed to. She was one of his employees, after all. She sat obediently through the meeting, taking notes on all that happened and helping to direct agents to the next logical steps. It turns out that Pepper's actually quite good at disaster and war clean up -- she's had to clean up after Tony's messes too many times not to understand. She's also very good at volunteering to help when she shouldn't, so now she has the responsibility for several more supply drops and on the ground organization.

That means she hasn't left the conference room since the meeting happened and finished. She's been sitting there at her laptop, typing away and ensuring she's tied off all the loose strings. Those people on the ground needed help as soon as possible, so the faster she could put all the pieces in place, the better she'd sleep at night. She looks up from the laptop, a slight line coming to her lips as she sees the glass in his hand. Already. She doesn't comment on it, but it's clear she's noticed it.

"There weren't donuts. Half the team just got back from a disaster time. There wasn't exactly time to get donuts. Where did you get *scotch*? We're on an international agency's military craft."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony turns back around and offers one of the quixotic smiles and settles into a chair the way he always does; as if he owns it. Stark Industries did build the thing (and the Quins), after all, so in a way? "No donuts? There is always time for donuts. I'm not even seeing danish crumbs. Even bagels would have been okay." There's a pause as the glass is raised to his lips, and he takes a quick sip, "In a pinch," is finished.

"So," Tony leans forward, his attention on his stalwart companion, his gaze lingering for a long moment before another small swallow is taken. "How long do you think we'll be here? Month? Two months? Year?" 'We', of course, meaning Stark Industries, playing the role of nation rebuilder. "I want a full accounting. Geological surveys, archaeological, anthropological, anything you can think of, I want on the ground with the engineers."

There's a pause in his patter, and the drink gets cradled in hands. He's not going to go into //how// he got it; it was probably plain before. He knows all the good hiding spots and the chances are better than even that SHIELD hasn't found them all. Obviously not, as he has his scotch. His visage softens around the edges, and it's almost 'throwaway' conversation, the cadence of his words light. "You did good. But," a hand rises, finger in the air, "at no time are you to hit the ground when we are. Even if the dashing and debonair doc in blue asks you to."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper is silent for a few heartbeats longer. It's enough time for her to finish typing the email she's working on and put in the order for several surveys of the region. While it wasn't on the top of her to-do list, she had to admit it was a good idea. Once she has the orders in for them, she confirms quietly, "I've got every possible land survey on the way as well. I'll get them to the engineers as soon as they arrive. Hand them in myself." That last bit might just be added in response to his comment about her not going onto the ground.

She reaches up, slowly shutting her laptop now that everything is sent, her green eyes landing on his calmly. She doesn't look thrilled at his words. "Look, Tony, I'm here. I've been here, waiting in the wings, for a very long time. I'm here cleaning up every mess you get into and that's not going to change. But if you are doing this... super hero thing, if you are being pulled out into more and more, I'm not just going to... stand by and wait until dust settles if I can help. There will be a time that comes when waiting is too late. If I'm here, I'll do what I need to help, end of story."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony finishes the liquid in his glass, the ice *clink*ing on the sides as he pushes it over to the desktop and slides it a little further away. At least he doesn't have the bottle stashed on him, or a flask (that would be gauche). "Pep, I don't really want to have a long, drawn out discussion over this, which," and there's that moment of amused concession that flickers across his face, echoing in his words, "granted, is just a pipe dream. But I can dream, right?"

He doesn't rise from his chair, but there's that energy that is always there, as if at a moment's notice, he'll do .. something. Usually unexpected. "Which is exactly where I need you to be. And since when //aren't// you a help? I mean, look at you. You just managed to mobilize more people on the ground than any other First World Country. Which is exactly what I like about you."

Tony leans forward, as if to underscore his next words, his expression intent, "If you're down there, I can't do the usual stupid things I do in order to get the job done. I'd be too worried that someone was going to do something stupid and go after you."

Pepper Potts has posed:
There is silence in return from her again but, this time, she can't hide behind work on her computer. Maybe it was a mistake to shut it, at least she could pretend she wasn't avoiding an immediate answer by focusing on the screen. Now, instead, there's his his dark eyes, the scent of scotch on his breath, and the nerve racking chemicals of an adrenaline crash that hasn't quite come yet but is on the horizon in her nearby future. She leans a bit closer, lacing her fingertips together on the closed laptop.

"And how do you think I feel? Every time you go out there in that tin can, facing off against god knows what. There could have been a nuclear explosion down there today! Is your suit really going to save you from *nuclear fallout??* Don't answer that. I know neither of us REALLY know. And you expect me to just sit by, listening to you almost die time and again, and do... Nothing? Hide? God, Tony... do you know what it's like to sit here and do NOTHING? At least on the ground I can... help. I can see what's going on. I can organize...faster."

Pepper takes in a slow breath, trying to calm that unnerved gallop of her heart in her throat. She isn't one who normally gets emotional about things, but it's hard to not get emotional when it's *him* out there almost dying. "Besides... if someone was going to take a swipe at me for being your right hand, they already would have. It's not a secret."

Iron Man has posed:
Would this be the right time to tell her that he'd hooked up the NUCLEAR power grid to his chest for a moment while the system stabilized? Probably not. Let that be a little secret between him and the good doctor. He can't hide a small throat clearing, however, as he leans back in his seat, ostensibly for the force of Pepper's arguments. It's that little tell of his, only when around people he trusts, that he's already gone and done something absolutely stupid, but just isn't going to 'fess. Nope.

"There could have been, but there wasn't. Pepper, it was me and Dr McCoy. If we couldn't have done it, there'd have been no saving it regardless. And you were exactly where you needed to be. Ordering everyone else around so I didn't have to do it." Or, say, Commander Hill or Director Fury. Heh.

"I didn't almost die. The Mark VIII is doing really well, and even JARVIS mentioned that it's 'nominal'. From him, that's high praise, you know. He's gotta live in it." Tony exhales in a chuffed sigh, and he shakes his head, "And yes, you already have a target on your back. Worse now than before," he admits a little more quietly. "And that's why I have to make sure you're safe. If I could lock you in the tower, I would. Why do you think I've added the security protocols?" Stark Tower can withstand amost anything that is tossed at it, with blast shields being the bare minimum of the defenses. The thing it doesn't have, is weapons. But, that could be because he has a small army of drones? Maybe?

"Pepper, if.." Tony stops and takes a deep breath before rising from his seat and takes the couple of steps towards her. The laptop is pushed away gently, his gaze on the small bit of tech as he does so before he perches on that edge and looks at her. "I'm giving myself the best shot at staying alive. I know SHIELD isn't gonna do it. The big guy," Thor, "isn't always going to be there. No one has my back. No one." Here, he points directly at his companion, the woman who's spent years helping him do whatever it takes to succeed. "Except you. You." He shrugs, but it's not dismissive; it's a way to try and center himself. He isn't good at emotions, never has been. "I can't." Tony offers up a quick smile, there and gone, his gaze seemingly asking for her to understand, but it just might not go his way on this one.

"You're all I have."

Pepper Potts has posed:
The faint tick of a tell that betrays Tony's features to her is enough to get a tilt of Pepper's head. She's curious about what she missed and is now *certain* that she missed something. Her pale green gaze narrows at him, still neatly-painted taupe lips parting to ask something, but he's still talking. And not in the way that he just randomly talks over her when he's getting ideas or trying to organize a new research project. He's not talking *at* her, he's talking *to* her. That doesn't happen a lot. She's not going to interrupt it. Therefore, he gets saved from his grilling about what happened down there, for a few mintues, at least.

Her expression softens as he comes over to sit in front of her. This is closer than she normally lets herself get to him, really. They were still business associates, after all. Even if they hadn't just been business associates for a very long time. Pepper's throat tightens, her eyes dropping from his gaze to his hands between them. There is a wateriness to her smile that comes a few moments later, trying to meet his gaze. She's doing her very best to keep every inch of these emotions in check. She's failing.

"You're all I have too, you know?" She finally rasps out. She can't quite meet his eyes, fighting the sting behind her's with every scrap of control she has. "I...didn't go down there today because I... I didn't need to. But if one day you need me, whether you *want* me there or not... I'm going. Because you're all I have too."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony's no fool, and yet he can be the biggest idiot in the world. For //years//, he's had the most dedicated, loyal Personal Assistant (in capitals) that anyone could ever have, and now he's beginning to realize exactly //how// loyal she really is. Only the tip of the iceberg, really. Though, in his defense, there's no one else in the world that could pay her salary, which doesn't compare to what she's actually worth.

Priceless. And to Tony, everything has a price. Just have to find it.

He sits motionless for a long moment before his head bobs ever so slightly in a nod, a smile coming ever so slowly across his face. It's not mirth, it's not the 'gotcha' that he wears so often. This one is a touch softer, a touch more personal. And she's the only one who will ever see that genuine side. "If I need you, I swear," he ducks his head so he can see those green eyes, "I'll call." The smile shifts, his own emotional moment passing as he slides back off the table and onto two feet.

"Now, wouldn't it be great if that little country down there has a supply of vibranium like Wakanda?"

Pepper Potts has posed:
That small smile from him is enough to chase away the edge of moisture in her green eyes. Pepper doesn't always believe everything out of his mouth, but she believes that promise. She gives him a slightly shaky nod, "That's all I ask." Her voice is still a bit more raspy than it normally would be if she wasn't fighting her emotions quite so hard. She then takes a deep breath, trying to steady herself.

The moment is clearly passed. He's moving onto rebuilding efforts and thoughts about vibranium and the like, "I... somehow suspect we'd know if there was a vibranium supply down there, but stranger has happened..." She trails into outlining for him the rebuilding efforts she has already set up, set by step, as they both finally leave the conference room to get some proper food. She had nothing but coffee, he had nothing but scotch. Those things did not a balanced diet make.