4115/One night isn't enough

One night isn't enough
Date of Scene:	20 March 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Pepper talks future, Tony talks and talks and talks.
Cast of Characters:	Iron Man, Pepper Potts

---

Iron Man has posed:
It's just about five in the afternoon, and Tony has no meetings scheduled. He has had to move a few things around the past day, for the major reason that Rhodey is in the infirmary at SHIELD, and Tony has been over there pretty constantly. His friend's health was (and is) a major priority. As it should be.

But now, Tony's apparently back in the penthouse. Which, considering how much he's otherwise been spending his 'spare' time in the bunker, is different.

Pepper Potts has posed:
While Pepper has been doing what she normally does -- hold down the fort, handle more business side meetings so he can manage personal and Avengers business -- she has been doing her best to check up on him as much as she can. So, while she'd often prefer to work later, she did decide to bring some food up, intending to drop it off in the bunker, before going back to her office. She's got thai take out tonight, from the delicious new Thai place that opened up in the Financial district. Her high heels echo across the floor as she steps into the penthouse, intent on heading straight for the bunker but then she stops as she sees him, slightly blinking. "Tony? I...thought I was going to have to drag you away from a project just to get you fed. As usual. Hungry?" She asks, a touch of worry behind her tone.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony is located on the couch, with his high tech glasses on, the images on the lower lenses moving, which suggested he was awake and working. But no, it's more like having glasses with the eyes painted on the lenses, except probably far more effective. -- because he isn't actually awake. Tony's laying on the couch, and has a tablet against his lower belly, hand on it, but otherwise? No, he's passed out!

There are no relics of drinking around, although he did drink the previous night, at Clint's: although not too heavily, considering the excuse to do it that he really did have. He does stir some at her talking, though, and the tablet slides down off his abdomen.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Oh..." Pepper half breathes out as she realizes that he's probably dead asleep. She doesn't make another sound, then, because he probably needs it. She carefully slips out of her high heels, so they don't click on the ground any longer, and tip toes on stockinged feet across the rest of the foyer. She stops first next to the kitchen, just to gingerly set the bag of food down. Then she's creeping back to his side, trying to be as silent as her slim form and well fitting suit will allow. Tender as can be, she reaches out to try and guide the tablet from the side of the couch and set it onto the coffee table. If she manages that, then she's grabbing at her favourite fuzzy throw blanket that she normally uses in the evenings -- freezing (especially her feet) most nights. She gently tries to stretch that out across him for some warmth. It smells like her, at least.

Iron Man has posed:
She does get the tablet away from him without any real difficulty. It has some readouts with some really very heavy and technical jargon about matter recombining after transference on it. Tony stirs when the blanket arrives, eyes opening, and then blinking in pained dismay at the holographic images in his face. Mostly just confused by them for a moment, and draws a hand up to shove the glasses up onto his forehead, accidentally knocking the blanket off his upper torso.

"Oh. Hi, Pep," Tony says sleepily, coming around, with a squint and cough, and a glance at the time.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Hey, darling..." Pepper half whispers, turning back to him and bringing herself to kneel down at his side. Her fingertips reach up to gently unlace the glasses from in his messy, dark hair, before they get caught up there. She just sets them aside, like a loyal wife taking off her husband's reading glasses before bed every night, and then turns back to him with a gentle smile. "Go back to sleep, if you want. I was just making sure you were warm. Didn't mean to wake you..." She then pulls that blanket back up across his torso, her touches tender and a bit worry driven. She still worried about him.

Iron Man has posed:
"Just didn't want to miss out on my kiss," Tony answers, sleepy but still playful, moving the hand to the side of her neck and cheek, using the back of his hand to brush a few strands of her hair aside from her face. He then unburies his other hand to tap the edge of his beard with a finger, and gives her a little cheeky grin.

"Besides, too early for sleeping. Didn't realize I was that tired," Tony admits, with some dismay. "Which makes Dr. McCoy /right/ again."

Pepper Potts has posed:
That makes her smile a touch more and Pepper leans up, her head slightly tilting into the touch of his fingertips, savoring that brush. "Mm... I suppose I can let you stay awake for ONE kiss." SHe teases him gently before leaning over to press a full, lingering kiss straight to his lips. Screw this edge of beard thing. Once she's let it remain for a few moments longer than is probably proper, she straightens a little more and looks down to him with a furrowed brow, her mind finally catching up to his other words. "...What did Dr. McCoy say?"

Iron Man has posed:
"That's good of you," Tony says quietly, edgewise, before he's quieted from the kiss. As she straightens back he followed her just a little bit with his head, but then drops his head back into the couch arm again. And stretches his torso a hair, lifting one forearm up to tuck it behind his head, lounging, comfortable in front of her. And maybe a hair of deliberately taking on a sexy pose. Or it's just Tony. Or both. He's just in a t-shirt, though it's thick enough to somewhat mute the glow from the arc reactor.

"Accused me of trying to get out of it with another case I wanted him to look at," Tony shares, saying it mostly just to draw out her anticipation for the actual answer. He doesn't make her wait long. "I'm doing great. So long as I rest properly, he thinks I'm nearly back to my usual 110%."
There's a pleasure to telling her the good news in his gaze, a warmth in the dark brown eyes that hope to please her, to cause her bright smile.

Pepper Potts has posed:
The woman listens quietly, her eyes narrowing slightly at him, trying to see the lie or the unspoken worries beneath the words. But, she couldn't see it. Maybe he was actually being honest. Maybe they'd come through the worst. Pepper blinks quietly, "...Seriously? You...You're there? 100 percent, promise?" Pepper asks with barely restrained hope in her voice. SHe looks like she's almost ready to kiss him again, but is holding herself back.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony laughs, and pushes the blanket aside to fully sit up. He reaches for her, to pull her off-balance, likely, towards him. Drawing her torso snug to his, bringing his head in against her cheek. "Yeah, I guess I'm going to be around a while longer," Tony teases her, though there's zero bite to the words. He's pleased SHE is pleased. "I /told/ you I can do anything," Tony reminds, embracing her close.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper laughs. Fully, warmly, with a touch of freedom she's not felt in months. She sounds genuinely... Happy. Like some weight came off her chest. And her smile is just beaming, even as she's toppled gently into him. That gets her to chuckle even more as she comfortably stumbles across him, letting her legs fall to either side of his hips, which hikes her skirt up in very interesting ways but she doesn't much care right now. She just leans over to kiss him again, this time fully and without delicacy or reservation. The kiss of relief. Of joy. She doesn't let it linger too long, even if there was more heat to it than the first, pulling back to whisper, "I know... I know. But this wasn't just you and... it... it was bad for a while there. I know it was. You know it was. I... was just scared."

Iron Man has posed:
It was bad. Tony does know it, and evades with his gaze a little to the side, lips and cheek moving in those funny little tics of pursing lips and almost saying something, but closing his mouth again. Those little features of Tonyisms. And then he's slanting his eyes back to her with a somewhat penetrating look to his dark eyes. He corrals her hands and sets them on his upper chest, either side of the reactor, and covers her smaller hands under his.

"Well. I beat it. So we're more around to what do you want to /do/ about it." The flirt is clear and obvious with the smile that manifests along with it.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Spend the rest of my life with you." It just sort of comes out. Not that it would be any different if they were dating or she was just working for him -- that had always been Pepper Potts' plan. But now there is a bit more weight to it. Though, a heartbeat later, even as her delicate hands are trapped there against his chest, her eyes go wide and she almost pulls back, realizing what she's said. It was way too serious. He was flirting. Get it together, Pepper. She tries to save the day with a flirtatious smile in turn, "Or... at least the rest of the night."

Iron Man has posed:
Well, she definitely stalled him out there with that one. Tony stares at her a bit, brows up. It's that night in the blue dress again, when she's floored him unexpectedly, and he doesn't quite have something off the top of his head. He clears his throat some, inspecting her face.

His expression is a mix of awkward and a bit exposed. Feelings are difficult. He didn't expect her reply, clearly. And the flirtation is a life preserver. He releases a heavy breath and awkward laugh he didn't know he was holding. He's pretty sure she'll feel his heart pounding under her hands.

She'll read him, like she always does: he's caught between being spooked and some other deeper, hidden thing. That thing that lives in the same space as declaring she's his. "Well, the /night/ isn't long enough for me," Tony says, finding his cheeky reply in the midst of the thick awkward.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Her hand presses just a touch closer, feeling that pound of his heart but slightly enjoying it too. Strong. Not faltering. Living on for many, many years. She smiles almost shyly for a moment, trying to put this all into a flirt, but it's more than just flirting. They both knew that. She just doesn't want to scare him away. "...Well...maybe a few weeks, at least. Forever might be a bit much. I'll eventually retire, after all." She winks to him, like this was all about work.

Iron Man has posed:
It's not really flirting due to the serious root, and both of them are smart enough to know that. "if this is a way to angle for a raise or improved 401K, I've got to say, it's not the first time I've seen it, but probably the most dedicated," Tony fires back, automatically.

But his physical signals are different from the verbal, his hands leave hers and skim gently up her arms to her shoulders, then leaving to instead brush fingers to either side of her chin, framing her face softly. Looking at her. "You're not going anywhere," Tony reminds her, in a lower voice.

Pepper Potts has posed:
About to flirt, tease, laugh back, Pepper had a hundred words on the edge of her lips that all die away when he reminds her in that quieter, more serious voice, that she's not going anywhere. Her teasing smile melts, just a little, to something far more serious and loving, but earnest. And still a smile. None of that sadness that had been behind it while he was sick, reserving her heart from tragedy. Just simple warmth. Comfort. It's the smile of someone coming home. "No... I'm not going anywhere. As long as you will have me."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony still has his hands cradling her cheeks, and moves a thumb in a brief caress against her cheek, then moves his hand back into her hair, undoing the side of the bun or ponytail if he has to. His smile is vague as ever, that unreadable place he sometimes ends up in when he's regained control over a situation. "I can work with that," Tony answers, serious, but that aloof little smile remains. That tease that assures her, from long experience, that he's probably going to start ... talking.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Just a simple, loose pony tail today. It's easy enough to grab the satin band and tug it free from her wavey, strawberry locks. They then tumble free around both of their face's, framing Pepper's faintly freckled features quite nicely, even as she smiles still. She tilts her head into that touch, eyes half lidding for just a moment, so deeply does she take the chance to simply enjoy that contact. It was so rare they just got time like this, stretched out on a couch, relaxing, her stockinged feet tracing the outside of his calves, bodies warming each other as snow begins to fall even harder outside.

However, she knows him. She knows the slight change in his breath, the aloof smile. Her head tilts just a touch more and she finally dares to prompt, "...What... are you thinking? More than you can work with that. I can tell... Talk to me, Tony."

Iron Man has posed:
Her asking makes him suspect she's concerned. "You worry too much. You need to lay off on the worrying, Pepper, that will only shorten time, and you seem to be a 'long haul' sort otherwise," Tony advises her, with a bit of a concerned, thick sigh and shake of head, but smiles at her anyway. He adjusts the length of her body with him just a little bit more, a small correction to relax comfortably with her there.

Tony then clears his throat a little bit, the second signal of some excessive talking. "I was thinking, since you asked-- about that you... deserve better than you're getting. And don't take that as self-deprecation, because I'm not capable of that," Tony jokes. He's talking -around- something. "You're very clear and concise about things, it makes it very apparent where you're speaking from, it's quite admirable really--" around we go.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"And YOU, Anthony Stark, are not. You like to talk circles around things. Especially around things that scare you -- like this. So... stop with the circles. Out with it. Come on now..." Pepper allows herself to be adjusted, getting a bit more comfortable against his chest and hips. She's still fully dressed and far to professional for their current position, but it will be easy to get her suit jacket off when the time comes. For now, though, she's content to be resting against him, looking down into his eyes, and waiting with that ever patient but not push over expression she gets.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony makes a face at her, put out, by the firm tone. And teasingly rebellious. "You're really making it difficult for me to maintain the romantic mood," Tony points out at her, caress turning more into a tap-tap, against her cheek.

"Don't interrupt me in the middle of complimenting you," he teases.

Pepper Potts has posed:
As he taps her cheek, Pepper's nose wrinkles a bit more beneath those faint freckles. Still slightly lipstick stained lips tug into a hint of a smirk, "Really now? Very well, Mr. Stark, do go on... just get to the point. DInner is getting cold." She teases him gently, not making any motion to get off of him at all.

Iron Man has posed:
"Before all these interruptions, I was saying --describing, really -- some very positive features you have. And that you deserve to be told certain things." Tony's teasing tone is slowly adjusting over into his more serious one, which uses a lower register of his voice, and quieter. It's a more private tone for just her, not his broadcasting showman side. Still, it isn't awkward, aside from the need to talk around it first to warm up. There's a directness: Tony chose and knows what he's going to do. He doesn't hold back once he's made a decision: shamelessly, really.

"You should hear it said to you, if your man does love you."

"And he does. I do, Pep."

Pepper Potts has posed:
While Pepper has been curious, slightly amused by all his dancing, what he finally gets to isn't actually what she expected him to say. She thought they had far longer, if ever, before he came to that. Her smile falls away, not in a bad way, but just in genuine shock for a few heartbeats. And she blinks against a sudden glassiness in her eyes, the wave of emotion so immediate and strong. She tries to swallow the sentiment back but she's not quite so good at brushing these things off as he is. And it meant a lot to her.

Really, it meant the world.

Finally, she clears her throat slightly, smiling through those unspent tears. "...I love you too, Tony. And that's why I'm not going anywhere." She finally whispers, the words no longer joking in the least.

Iron Man has posed:
So, Tony had a plan about saying that, but not really what to do /after/. Tony improvises generally, and starts to kind of withdraw automatically with a brief laughing cough, the apology for making things awkward nearly on his lips, and still tangled there while he watches her. He doesn't watch TOO long, he looked down. Feelings are difficult, and one big step forward sometimes includes a little quick dancing step back again.

"Yes, I mean. You'd told me. I was listening. Sometimes that happens," Tony replies, shifting into his teasing comfort zone, but plays with the side of her hair in his fingers.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"I just had to be sure." Pepper states, still quietly grinning. Then she saves him the trouble of being awkward any longer by leaning down and pressing a third, deep... and quite lingering kiss to his mouth. A kiss that says a lot more than emotions, but there's a lot of those there too. She lets her hands draw off his chest just long enough that she can unbutton her suit jacket and slip her arms out of it, tossing it across somewhere to the floor, then bringing her hands back down to trace across his chest as she steals breath from both of them.

Then, because Pepper can be teasing, maddening and beautiful in her own right, she pulls away to sit up smoothly and move to escape, "...But it is dinner time." She's moving just slow enough he could catch her, if he wished, and pull her back. She might almost be being coy.

Iron Man has posed:
A kiss is a great option, because all awkwardness dies immediately with that. Tony's far better at that part, and steps up to the plate responsively. It's an answer that does back up his previous statement, as does the assistance he offers with pushing her jacket back off of her shoulders as she's slipping free of it.

He doesn't immediately catch her, because he rolls instead to follow her and catch her partway through the penthouse. He'll sweep her off her feet if she's not careful. 100% and all.