14200/But what do YOU think

But what do YOU think
Date of Scene:	16 March 2022
Location:	Penthouse - Stark Tower
Synopsis:	Natasha and Tony have a quick chat and possible solutions decided upon, none of which will be popular.
Cast of Characters:	Iron Man, Black Widow (Romanoff)

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Iron Man has posed:
It's a day. A day where the sun is shining to the point where JARVIS has the floor to ceiling window that overlooks the City slightly darkened. It still allows for ambient light to filter in, but not as harshly. For those who have known the billionaire playboy, it's sometimes set to aid in the recovery of a hangover, or to help said playboy to feel not AS guilty about day drinking as others might normally be.

Tony is in rare form; even the robots are avoiding him as they go on their merry way to clean whatever it is that has been left over- bread crumbs, empty chip bags, empty glasses. He is on the main floor in a rather rumpled form, his scotch just to the right of him at one of his many worktables dotted around the open, spacious Penthouse. The fire in the fireplace is burning, the waterfall is, well, falling, and all seems pretty quiet.

"Okay, JARVIS, once more. I need you to access the facial recognition of GRU, NKVD, any of those damned letters."

<<I have done so 8 times, Mr Stark,>> How does an AI sound so real? Even JARVIS sounds patient, if not a little frustrated, if he can have human emotions attributed to his tones. <<There are no matches. Might I suggest that is an answer in itself?>> The gentle hint that there can be a positive result in a negative, which Tony just isn't allowing for right at this very moment.

Running a hand through mussed hair, it drops heavily once more to *slap* on his leg. "Right, right," he concedes. "So.. what do you suggest?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
DING.

There is that sound letting Tony know someone just entered the private elevator. JARVIS would inform him that it was Nastaha. She had actually sent a text earlier in the day that she would be there in thirty minutes. If Tony actually got that text or ignored it was another matter.

Natasha was dressed comfortably, civilian clothes and casual at that. Jeans, black boots with a short heel, a blue top that was almost a peasant style though it was mostly hidden under a lightweight, black leather jacket. Which would of course have a few weapons inside, something that any sensors would pick up. Though Natasha was one of those people that was always armed so hopefully the security didn't have a fit today.

It would be a couple of minutes then the DING from the elevator itself, letting them know she had reached the floor. She exited, into the main floor. A glance around at the state of the room then walking in once she found the man in the mess.

"Good morning. Just wanted to check in on things. Make sure you and Pepper made it through the night."

Iron Man has posed:
*ding*

If Tony had read his text, or in this case attributed it to 'this morning' and 'actually 30 minutes', he might have expected Natasha. Instead, he's twisting around at the same time JARVIS announces her presence with something that sounds like a sigh, <<Agent Romanoff here to see you, sir.>>

Anyone else would have had at least a verbal altercation in regards to carrying weapons up to the Penthouse, but at this point, it's become Industry standing orders to let Natasha up. JARVIS even opens elevator doors for her, and in the evenings, when lights are dimmed, he lights paths for her.

An arm wraps around the back of his chair, dark eyes focusing on the short distance, and he stands up, holding on to the chair for that added measure of balance. The glass is down, emptied at some point within the last few minutes, seconds, and as he straightens, his expression is deadly serious.

"Did you talk to Yelena?" Short, sweet and to the point, and in a way, he probably knows the answer. Tony has a habit of asking questions that he already knows the answer to, either intellectually, or by pure intuition. "Tell me that her taking Pepper out drinking, and getting into a fight was all some part of Widow training that makes sense. Because it sure as hell doesn't make any to me."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Watching as he manages to get to his feet, Natasha arches a brow as he just jumps right in there. No hello. No reassurance all was okay. As he continues, she can see why he might skip the reassurance part.

She closes the distance toward where he is standing, looking him over and noting the rumpled state of his clothing. He'd been here a while. Maybe even slept here. If he slept. That was up for debate.

"I met her briefly when we returned from California. She was talking to Alexander by the car." In the VIP parking space outside the entrance to Stark Tower, just across the street. "I wouldn't say we talked." It didn't get that far.

She considers his explanation. "Pepper alright?" She didn't doubt that Yelena was if a brawl was involved. "As for Widow training, that was not part of what I went through. Though my training was a long time ago." Long. Long. Time.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony's not the one to welcome in, offer up a drink.. unless it suits him. Unless there is some underlying reason for it. This, this is a discussion between friends, and more importantly, colleagues. Those who intimately understand the dangers in the world and have stepped up in one form or another to combat them. With Tony, and Iron Man, he's able to move a giant, world-wide corporation and set it on a path, with billions of dollars behind it. Iron Man? Well, he's more 'wild card' and 'privatized world peace'.

It's the unseen that is unbalancing Tony, the stuff he can't pick up on satellite imagery, and it's that unseen that Natasha knows all about. Has worked within and has been a part of for some time.

"I'm pretty sure they didn't change the basics." How flexible is Russian training, after all? He doesn't know, and at this point, really doesn't care.

"Impression? Anything?" Tony looks at Natasha for a long moment before he drops his gaze and pads towards the bar, now offering, since he's having another. "Want anything?"

He nods, a quick smile there and gone, "Yes. Apparently she had a knife to the throat, and Yelena blames herself for dropping the ball." Tony's recounting is flat; his coping mechanism for almost losing..

No. Tony scrubs at his face, fingers digging into his eyes, and he sets both hands on the bar soon after, blinking, letting things come back into focus. "I'm sure she's fine. She didn't want to tell me."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
She wasn't going to verify if that training did or did not change. Though she knows the truth that it had while she was still on that side. She'd been one of the trainers after all. Recent years were another thing. Of course, Yelena is of an age she should know the woman. At least as a girl. Yet there was still nothing in her memory. Better to focus on the situation at hand instead.

"No, thanks," Natasha responds to the offer of a drink. She does follow him over toward the bar, sliding onto one of the seats there and watching him closely. Picking up on the nuances of any micro expressions giving away more than he might be wanting to.

The fact Pepper could talk meant she didn't get her throat cut. Which was good. Yelena blaming herself? Natasha approved of that. Of course, Natasha would do that herself in the same situation.

"First impression is she is wanting to find a place. Yelena mentioned that Pepper is a great person. And she would do everything to protect her. I don't know who chose for them to go out . But I think with her choice of path, Yelena is searching for what she didn't have. She already identifies with Pepper as a friend after this short time."

Iron Man has posed:
If Pepper had been hurt, Tony would have been in a much worse state. Thankfully, that isn't the case and he's got a good portion of his faculties together. He just can't //solve// this with working in his lab. He has no direction, nothing to give him a hint. Which is probably exactly what is desired. To put him off balance.

Tony grunts his acknowledgment and reaches for the decanter to refill his glass. "That's what I read too. The girls have become fast friends, and I think she's forgetting she has a job to do." But, he's not willing to disturb that. In a way, he envies that, and whether or not anyone realizes it, it is a freedom that he simply doesn't have.

The fact that Natasha is here, it helps talk him back off the cliff, though that doesn't mean the drinking will stop. He's started, and later, he'll find his way to the lab for more work. "Probably Pepper's idea. Yelena is a little more conservative."

Tony recaps the glass decanter and pushes it along the top of the bar away, the glass now in hand, minus the ice. "I have to get out there more. Make myself a target more. Really piss people off."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Without asking, we won't know. Yelena will have beek kept under lock and key when not on an assignment. Assignments were the chance to get out, have some freedom. Experience the world and the enjoyment one can gain from it," Natasha says as she gives a little nod. "Remember, shortly after the entire Natalie Rushman situation, Pepper and I became friends." After an adventure with killers, sewer systems, and explosions. Nat still had a scar on her left thigh from that one. "She's one of the few people who managed to get through my walls, outside Clint." Who had been the first. Having brought her to the side of the angels.

"I can see her befriending Yelena in the same way." She shrugged. "Likely this has scared Yelena into being more careful. If you need, have Yelena step back from guard duty. If they want to be friends, that's fine. But put the guard duty on others."

Then she focused on his becoming a target. "It didn't draw fire in California but no one can make a splash quite like you. I'd back you. So would Steve and the others. If you had any idea who was behind it, we could go hunting instead of you playing bait."

She still had some feelers out in the community, her network of contacts, trying to find out more about this anonymous threat.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony takes a swallow of the newly poured 3-fingers, dropping it down to about 1 and a half. "I told her that she didn't have to stay here, under lock and key. To just //be careful//." He nods at the history lesson; it was at a time when Pepper was still 'taking out the trash', as it were. "She's good at that," he agrees quietly. "And I can see how the pair are working."

Lifting his gaze to Nat's, Tony nods slowly. "That was an idea, yes. I think she's been compromised." Not using her best judgement. "I'll have to find someone else, and this time, just have them at a distance so Pepper doesn't know." Of course Yelena will figure it out, or rather, Tony will tell her to step down. Not 'fired' per se, but.. yes. Fired.

"I have some targets in mind that would definitely get attention," Tony begins again, thoughtfully. "Easy to explain away. One is Hammer's, over in Germany, so.." He's been getting whispers of .. 'not good', and quiet investigations have begun. //This// is the sort of thing that the man is good at.

Tipping the glass back again to finish the contents, he sets it back on the counter with a *thwack*. "If you're in, I'll let you know when I'm leaving."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"If it helps, you know I'm in."

Natasha says it as though it's a given. For her, it should be. They are friends. She doesn't have a lot of those she can count.

"I'm willing to go with if you want that. Or be someone watching Pepper from the distance. Alexander could help as well, if you would like. I'm sure he would be willing. He has SHIELD training." And so much more she couldn't mention. Or wouldn't. Those were his secrets to share.

"I think the friendship with Yelena and Pepper might help them both." Just wanting to be certain he doesn't get himself in a bad spot trying to tell them otherwise. She didn't think Tony would but when it came to Pepper's safety? All bets were off.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony smiles, his lips tight, but it's there. He nods quickly, that silently stated acknowledgment given. It's certainly reciprocated. He'd use all of his available resources, which is more than several countries put together, to help where and when needed. Heck.. he's giving a new QUIN JET to the Avengers for Christmas. He doesn't even fly the thing, or fly IN it, so it's not even a side present to himself. It's to keep his friends and colleagues safer, which is no mean feat.

He cants his head, the smile turning towards that more 'normal' look, brows rising, as if there's something that touched through the fog of his brain. "Alexander? He's still around?" He's teasing, mostly, even in those few words. Ultimately, the undercurrent there is, //Good.//

Tony leans on the bar now, his forearms settling and holding some of his weight. After this, he's definitely going to grab a shower. "She's a big girl," he begins. "I don't tell her where to go, where not to go. Not unless it's for her safety." Even then, apparently? "Even then, it's up to her. Same with people." Though, if he didn't trust Yelena, if he truly blamed her for all that occurred, she'd have had all access to Stark Tower revoked, and he might have gone so far as to really mess with her. Such is his reach.

"Why am I in the business of rehabilitating Russian spies?" He can't help it, and it's delivered in such a deadpan, that for most, it'd be difficult to discern if he was joking or not. There is that gleam in dark eyes, however..

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
That quinjet was going to be taken very good care of by Natasha, who often chose to be pilot on their missions. She could appreciate the nuance of a beautiful machine, having piloted quinjets for many years. Certainly it was just because she liked it, not because she had control issues. Maybe she had control issues. She didn't even like to let other people drive when she was in a car. Though her boyfriend had finally reached the point she didn't protest when he opted to drive now. It had taken a while.

There is a snort of derision from Natasha at his fiinal question. And when she speaks, she does so in a Russian accent though she's speaking American. "You did not rehabilitate me, Tony Stark. Nor help me to do so. Though perhaps I should be asking, how many others have you helped outside Yelena Belova, da?"

Then her American accent is back, something she has perfected over so many decades there is no hint of the life she was born into. She shrugs and her smile is genuine. "Yes, Alexander is still around. Expect him to be for a while." Since he was the first person she had found that she felt she could discuss an actual future with. Not one that had her partner aging while she did not.

She nodded her approval at his assessment of Pepper. If he held on too tight, that could lead to disaster. But the woman was important to him, even if he hadn't admitted just how much even to himself. She had learned long ago not to try to play matchmaker in that.

Captain America hadn't been so lucky yet.

Iron Man has posed:
Brows rise, and his smile quirks, "You'll never know."

Still, Tony's probably not the //best// person to talk about relationships with, even if he can somewhat sympathize with what Natasha is saying. He's not all that clear on the 'aging' thing with her, as opposed to Steve, and it's a little bit hazy. So, he picks it up the best he can from talks until the time comes when he absolutely needs to know. Then? Research. Blood samples, tests, a full blown push into the rabbit hole. Or, conversely, going to find and visit the facility, the room where it happens, as it were. Either works.

"Good. You know, when you smile," he puts a hand up, his fingers wiggling in front of her face, "All that kind of softens. No lines, no.. you have perfect skin, but.." After the quick gesture, his brows rise in the 'who knew?' sort of expression.

"Right," and Tony pushes himself away from the bar. This is why people call him a functional alcoholic. He could be blowing a .250 to .300 and still be not only standing, but ready for some work. "I need that shower.."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Less tension. I get it." Natasha smirks a bit, a more common experession for her when around others. Though the smile was something Tony had seen often enough in private social settings, such as parties here that didn't have everyone from high society in attendance. Or when they were in the Avengers mansion. At some point in the years, they had become friends instead of teammates.

She couldn't even point to a precise moment with any of the Avengers outside Clint.

"I'll get out of your hair." She slipped off the stool and headed toward that elevator, sure that JARVIS would have it opening for her at the precise moment. "Just let me know what you need. I'm going to try to arrange to talk with Yelena as well. Not about this," she said with a wave of her hand. "About the situation with her and I."

Three...two...one....

*DING*

"Thank you, JARVIS."