9407/Priorities

Priorities
Date of Scene:	03 October 2019
Location:	Penthouse - Stark Tower
Synopsis:	Pepper comes home after a late night to talk Tony into some brief work before they both decide they have some other more important priorities for the night -- namely, each other.
Cast of Characters:	Iron Man, Pepper Potts

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Iron Man has posed:
While Pepper has been away a month, various subtle things have happened. Some more subtle than others. Tony has been 'himself,' and left to his own self-care: which means there was pretty clearly drinking, even if little of the evidence remains. The habits formed by doing it very regularly are there. It may have been excused the first night or two as celebratory, but by the third night, there's a pattern.

Still, this evening isn't too bad, because Tony's off with a new idea to augment his most recent project, and didn't have time to consume much yet.

It is upon Tony's return to the penthouse that he wanders to the wet bar area, digging around, even before getting a shower in.

Pepper Potts has posed:
While Pepper has been back around a bit more, she's had entirely too much to do settling back into the country. So, most nights are late, either working in the office or at business dinners. She's not in one of her 'going out' suits or dresses, so chances are she's been in office all night and is only now coming up stairs to change, maybe shower, and collapse into a much needed sleep. She steps out of the lift, kicking off her too-high heels immediately.

"Tony?" She calls into the room, not quite certain if he was down in the bunker or actually up and around. JARVIS had said he was home but Pepper didn't inquire further. Sometimes she liked to sneak into the bunker just to watch him work in silence a few minutes, when he didn't totally lock it.

Iron Man has posed:
"Yep," Tony calls back, standing up from where he'd been crouched looking through wet bar options. "Over here, honey," he adds, distracted, with the sounds of moving bottles accompanying his announcement of where he is.

"How was work? Boss still giving you trouble?" Tony asks wryly, stepping forward to spread his palms on the top of the wet bar, like some saloon barkeep asking her her troubles of the day. He lacks a cup to clean and a towel, though. He doesn't look dirty; his tasks in the bunker were not ones that caused him to be covered in anything: he's just in a comfortable black tanktop and athletic style gray pants: his type of semi-bunker loungewear.

Pepper Potts has posed:
If he's gotten back into old habits, Pepper hasn't been around enough to see it, and she's not coming home to him sloppy drunk (or rescuing him from some party he's crashing) so this feels practically normal to her. A smile widens across her lips as she begins unbuttoning her suit jacket, eager to get out of the stiffly tailored thing. "Mm, yes. While I'm working into the night, he's up here making drinks and playing with very fancy lego sets." Pepper teases him lightly as she comes around to the other side of the bar, slipping an arm around the back of his waist.

"But...I do suppose he could make it up to me with a gin and tonight."

Iron Man has posed:
"The fanciest," Tony agrees immediately about his Lego sets. "Avenger themed. It's all about the branding." Tony leans into her arm, and presses a kiss to her forehead, with a lift of fingers to brush her bangs aside. He's comfortable, there was no 'weirdness' about her coming home after a month: no awkward distance for them. Just picking up right where things had left off. But then, it's been natural, none of it was forced.

"I feel like you're segwaying into making your boss sign some things. Is my autograph needed tonight?" Tony asks, with a sideways look and lift of brow. He's usually good at smelling work on her.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Mmm..." Pepper half vocalizes, which is *definitely* not a no. "... if my boss would be up to looking over a few plans... I've got one contract that would be very nice to send before 8 am in Hong Kong, but... I would never want to drag work home on his Avengers Lego night." Pepper teases lightly, but she's happily leaned into that kiss and the touch across her forehead. While she was a long line of tension when she first walked into the apartment, it's quickly falling away. Especially at the promise she might not have to badger him to get the last few bits of paperwork signed.

Iron Man has posed:
"Hmmmmmmmm," Tony breathes out slowly, turning his head in towards hers, staying close after the kiss, settling his cheek against her head, arm still around her securely, though it comes up more to around her shoulders, loose and comfy.

"One contract. Just /one/? It won't become eight? I have plans tonight," Tony warns her, with a tone that's ... not only a little bit suggestive. "My girlfriend is a priority over work."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"...Oh really now? If I get the voice recorder out, are you going to say that again?" Pepper very lightly teases against his cheek, but her smile has widened into a full on grin. Gin and tonic forgotten, those contracts are almost on the edge of being forgotten, as she leans a bit heavier against him, letting the whole of her be loosely wrapped up in that arm across her shoulder.

"...Two contracts and I won't get the recorder. Then done for the night and I'm all yours. I promise..." She bargins gently against the corner of his mouth, sealing that promise the most gentle of kisses to his lower lip.

Iron Man has posed:
"How did one become two?" Tony asks, to argue for the sake of arguing. It wouldn't be Tony without some unnecessary chatter. She's found a good button to press, though, putting a kiss on his mouth, and he's quiet to look at her fully, drawing a hand up to her cheek, palm passing over her ear to guide her to kiss him more fully on the mouth. And the kiss isn't a short one.

"You can record me all night if you like," Tony teases her, voice low. "Bring out the work if you must. I know a good bargain."

Pepper Potts has posed:
The paperwork can wait a /few/ minutes, and Pepper pushes into that kiss. She wasn't totally shy before but returning after so long apart, and this still very much being alive between them, it's like it's given her more confidence. That all of her has trusted she's doing the right thing, no matter what the papers say. So, she kisses him like a woman who is still making up for a month without, but eventually they must breath. She's flushed beneath her light smattering of summer-sun freckles now.

"...Two contracts. That's it. I promise." And then she's gently slipping out of his arms and she goes to grab the little brief case she brought up with her. A 3-D display pad with the hovering paper before him, still the last few bits of the aqcuisition deal, scooping up subsidary companies Pepper found in taking over the main business. She's really quite the savvy business woman when he let her go out on her own. She brings it over to the bar, plopping the work right before him.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony followed her about three steps before stopping at the bar's edge, leaning his hip against it, and just ... watching her. He didn't do anything else, other than quietly watch her move away from him, look into her briefcase and fish around in it. When she looks back she'll find him like that, dark eyes just observing her collecting the things.

When she brings them, though, he'll hook a roguish smile at her and turn his gaze onto the documents. He's giving it an effort, it appears, although he also draws that arm aroud her waist again while he looks at it. "Pen," Tony asks, looking at her and reaching across to take said pen away from her. It's not handing it to him if he steals it with intent. There's then another pause of quiet as he looks over the document, flipping the pages up with his free right hand in his casual way. "No firstborns signed over, right?"

Pepper Potts has posed:
It's not technically a 'pen', but a 3D projector stylus, so he can sign the document mid air on the paper that is being projected. One of his own developments ages ago. Pepper cannot remember the last time she printed off something on actual paper. She's blushing again, perhaps a bit deeper, having caught him looking at her like that, but she doesn't bring it up. She just tucks herself against his side.

"No firstborns. Yours, or theirs. We don't need to baby sit ANYONE else. Just full first patent rights to anything in their R&D department in exchange for they getting a share of the profits but we taking over their operating costs. Considering the minds they have on staff, it was worth it..." Pepper points out the various clauses, among a whole bunch of legal ease, so he can see that she got the important points in there.

Iron Man has posed:
"Yes, you're entirely booked with babysitting /me/," Tony says, in a deadpan tone that edges into rueful. And includes a nudge of his hip against hers. He is reading it, though: Tony's a very quick study, and the legalese doesn't entirely go over his head. A benefit to the genius part. He just doesn't /retain/ a lot of it.

"Yep, okay." Tony signs off on that one, and taps a few fingers on to hologram to adjust to the next contract. That one falls similarly, though Tony doesn't sign blindly. That's the most major indicator that he hasn't had drinks yet: he still gives a shit.

"Good. Back to you," Tony says, pushing the whole thing away out of her easy reach, and turning towards her with a teasing smile. It gives way, though, into an expression closer to the one he wore when watching her not long before. "I love that you're back."

Pepper Potts has posed:
The strawberry blonde gives him time to read, idly tucking her nose into the crook of his neck and taking a deep breath of his scent as he goes over the second contract, quite similiar to the first but for a tech company in Kowloon specializing in CRISPr reearch. "See? That wasn't so hard." She murmurs against his adam's apple as he finishes with the contracts. She signs a quick witness signature, grabbing the display pad, and quickly types in the 'Back to you' field to send them back automatically to the now purchased companies.

She then pulls away, swiping closed the screen and beginning to shut the display pad when those first two words come out of his mouth. She almost drops up, green eyes flickering up... and then the rest of the sentence finishes. Remembering to breathe again, she passes it off with an awkward bit of a smile, trying to pass off that she thought he was going to say anything else, "Yes, well... it's very nice to sleep in a bed that is not a hotel." Not technically her own bed, but she's barely seen her own condo since she returned.

Iron Man has posed:
"I did entirely too much sleeping," Tony flirts naturally, at ease. There's no playboy quality to it, though, no arch of brow or smirk that she's seen him throw at random Supermodel X. His flirt tone with Pepper has always been different: a sort of confidential-toned teasing, in this particular case.

"All right: away from the work with you, Ms. Potts," Tony says suddenly, playfully, and drops both hands under her butt, in a movement to pick her up and physically move her, if she's on board with it. "/Your/ boyfriend requests being a priority, now," teases the inventor, directing them towards the bed that isn't really hers in technicality, but may as well be.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"I guess I'll have to give you things to do that aren't sleep or Legos, hmmm?" Pepper teases gently, knowing that sound of his voice all too well and it makes up for the momentarily being caught off guard. Perhaps he didn't say it directly, but she knew. She absolutely knew. She's just about to finish crossing to him when he comes by and sweeps her up instead.

That motion catches her off guard again, but in a good way. She laughs openly, letting him scoop her up as her legs wrap around his waist for a few moments. Sure, it hikes up her tailored skirt, but she doesn't seem to mind about propriety right now. She tightens her arms around the back of his shoulders, "The highest priority. I promise." And she falls into kissing him as they disappear into the back all of the apartment.