9984/Not a problem... maybe a problem

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Not a problem... maybe a problem
Date of Scene: 10 November 2019
Location: Penthouse - Stark Tower
Synopsis: Tony's alcoholism is not getting better, and Pepper isn't going to ignore it.
Cast of Characters: Iron Man, Pepper Potts




Iron Man has posed:
"...but is not responding," JARVIS is saying as Pepper rides the elevator towards the top level, where the expansive Stark penthouse is located. JARVIS's word about Tony's state is said with mild concern: but then, his mood is always relatively mild and reserved.

Still, the information was relayed: Tony has been drinking. But isn't dead. In theory.

The elevator will open into a brightly lit penthouse, the receded floor smoothly illuminated by the long warm lights along the edge of the steps that lead down into the plush, carpeted area. There's evidence everywhere of a personal celebration on Tony's side, suggesting there weren't others around for this.

Flung across one of the couches is the weird shape of the technological leg-brace that Tony has been wearing off and on for the past month. He'd fractured one of his legs during the final sentinel battle, and at first, he wore the red and golden iron-man themed brace constantly, but he's more and more often left it in various places. Tonight, it's the couch, straps loose and dangling off the edge.

Tony himself isn't visible. But that doesn't mean he's not directly on the floor beyond the couch.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Thank you, JARVIS," Pepper says, always offering politeness to the AI since it is very much like any person she might know. Even better than many. The fact it sounds like a person, right down to emotional nuances in the voice, makes it simple to think of it as another being, albeit slightly different.

Once the elevator opens, her heels click as she walks across the hard floor until she reaches the carpeting, where the sound is muffled by the cushioning. The sight of the brace has her frowning and she moves quickly around the couch, trying to find the person that should be attached to the brace. "Tony?" she calls out to the room, not too loudly as it isn't necessary. The sound carries well enough when the room is empty like this. "Are you here?"

She rounds the couch, moving to pick up the brace since she intends to be sure it is put back on the leg it should be helping heal, once she finds Tony himself.

Iron Man has posed:
"I'm in bed," Tony's voice answers from the floor off the side of the couch, muffled. He did come up with a pillow, which has been pulled under his head alongside. "The whole penthouse," Tony continues, with a pause for a deep yawn, "counts..." Because Lord Stark decrees.

Tony isn't dressed comfortably, particularly: he has on a pair of his expensive slacks, socks (the shoes must be somewhere else), and one of his dress shirts, unbuttoned down about halfway, a (previously) crisp blue. The light of the arc reactor, dim from being under the undershirt, still is visible against the carpet of the floor, from the sideways angle of his body.

"....as my bed." The liquor is strong with this one. He lifts one hand up against his face with a grunt, unearthing his cheek from the couch pillow.

Oh look, Pepper. "Hey, Pep."

Pepper Potts has posed:
For a moment, her emotions are clearly on her face. The concern, the worry, the little wrinkle on her forehead between her brows and the way her bottom lip shifts into an almost pout. She hates when he gets in this state. He had been doing so much better.

Then those lips tightened, narrowing slightly as the furrow disappeared and her emotions were locked away. "Perhaps in your dreams it all counts, but sadly that is still a floor to the rest of us." She moves to his side, having picked up the boot on her way and squatting down beside him though very carefully with her knees together and smoothing her skirt into place. "Your bed is actually in the next room. Consider it cost several thousand dollars, something I didn't think was possible for a bed, you should use it. But you need to put this back on before trying to stand up."

She pulls that boot over, reaching for his leg and preparing to slip it back on him.

Iron Man has posed:
"Nahhhhh," Tony declines, with a wrinkle of nose. He's not taking in her expression, at least not yet, though the haze of his current state. Which is probably one of the primary reasons Pepper hates it: he's disconnected, and turns into a version of himself that is best not aired. "That brace, by the way, costs more than my bed," Tony says informatively, disjointed, as the liquor informs what's coming out of his mouth.

Despite that, he does roll and sit up, one hand coming across to steady by trying to rest his forearm across her knees. There's no grabbiness to it: he's just out of it, and relying on her, in this subconscious way, to help him. She always helps him, and the trust is always there.

Tony didn't get up, but supervises: in that he's looking at her, and she can do what she wants with the brace.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Then it makes sense to use it. For the purpose it was designed, not as an oversized paper weight," Pepper says as she carefully reaches for his leg and shifts to put the brace it. She does so gently, not wanting to aggravate the injury in any way but certainly not going to leave it off for one second longer. Who knows how long he's had it off and what damage he may have done. "JARVIS? Is the leg in the status it was before he took off the brace?" Translation: Please tell me he didn't hurt himself.

Once she has it fastened in place around his leg, she turns her attention to the rest of him. Her hand pats his arm, which is resting across her knees. "Shall we try to get you up to the couch at least? I think you'd be more comfortable there. Then I can get you something to drink and we'll work on the transfer to your bed." Wait, that was not a good way to phrase that. "For you to get some sleep."

Iron Man has posed:
"Yes, it's fine," Tony cuts in.

"The leg is--" JARVIS begins.

"Nope, stay out of this," Tony admonishes the ceiling, and gives Pepper a self-satisfied little smirk. "And as the designer of the brace, I'd be able to tell you that it could double as a paperweight, if I had any paper." He's moving to allow the brace to be put back on, he didn't fight her on it. He just had to chatter; Tony and his chatter. There was only once flinch, as it was initially coming around his knee: and that two got drowned in continued talk.

"Pretty good view from here, but you've sold me with 'drink'," Tony says, starting to leverage himself up, most of the weight on the couch, not on her.

"And you can report, JARVIS."

"The leg is in stable condition, no new tears are present," JARVIS says.

Tony flashes a quick grin to Pepper; his charima warm and sudden, even in his intoxication.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Despite herself, Pepper has to smile when Tony gives that satisfied smile. "Well, I had to ask," she points out in her own defense. Even as he is working on getting himself onto the couch, Pepper is there.

Her arms move to around him to help offer support, although truthfully there is little she would be able to do to support him if he fell. Maybe provide a nice cushion when he landed but that'd be about it. It was more she was there, always to help him, to take care of him, making sure he knew she was by his side. Especially in times like this when he needed her most.

Only once he was on the couch did she shift to move away, taking her arms from around him quickly and making sure he was supported by the cushions properly. The pillow that was on the floor was picked up, fluffed, the pillowcase straightened, then it was placed next to him on the couch cushion to his right. "There. Isn't that better? I'll go get that drink."

With that, she is moving to the bar. She pulls out a bottle of water, pops the seal, then pours it into a rocks glass. Then she brings it over to him, offering the drink with a partial smile. "There's more where that came from so drink up." She knows he won't be pleased when he realizes what she poured for him, but he needed some water to start helping get that alcohol out of his system. Not that it really helped. Time was what was required so this was going to be a long night. "Tony? What was this all about? Celebrating or did something happen?" she asks with concern.

Iron Man has posed:
Once on the couch, Tony pulls up both feet to put them on the coffee table, the booted brace awkward, but Tony makes do-- but crossing his other leg over it. It isn't intended to frustrate Pepper, but he wouldn't be Tony if he didn't do a bit of it accidentally. And continually. He rests his head back, one hand perched across his eyes, thumb rubbing along the edge of an eye socket.

Tony doesn't take the glass when offered: he gives her the brief little 'look' as she hits his peeve: being handed things. But, evidently deciding that was punishment enough, reaches out and takes it off her hands. A large drink from it follows, wherein he coughs heavily, backwash into the glass, when it is not what he expected. He coughs again, making a face. "Ugh, death by over-hydration," Tony complains. "You forgot the liquor in this ice," he points out.

Her question about the cause makes him reflect playfully at first. Then his expression changes, and he relaxes back a little more, setting the cup of melted ice against his thigh. "Well. No, neither," Tony says. His lips move, a quirk and pressure, and his eyes turn down, panning across his lap, to the glass. He twists it in his fingers, brows low, his dark eyes processing. Intoxicated he's still a brilliant mind. "This... might be a problem," Tony says, finally, the laugh and smile gone, for that one moment of quiet admission.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"I am positive that is the perfect ratio for the time being. Once you finish, I'll give you the other half of the bottle." Pepper is not the least bit bothered by his complaint nor is she going to back down on that note. He needs it. She often lets him get away with things. Then there are moments she will stand up and this will be one of them.

When he actually seems about to answer her question, she grows serious and a little concerned. Generally, it's a glib sort of answer and blowing it off as nothing. But the fact he's saying there is a problem?

She sits on the couch beside him, facing toward him with her legs angled the opposite direction and tucked close to the front of the couch, crossed and the ankles. "I'm guessing you mean...?" she waves a hand at the room in general, the evidence of his evening's excess.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony glances up at her but doesn't linger on her face. His eyes moved to her, then down, partially into the room. He clears his throat and itches the side of his cheek with his thumb. His lips are moving, as if he were slowly chewing on the thought. His gaze drops to the glass. He releases a little chuffed sound from his throat. "Cheers," Tony jokes, lifting the glass to her, and drinks about half of it. He moves his other arm out, across her legs to snare her far knee under his palm loosely.

"I don't know. It'll be all right," Tony says, rallying, and flashing her a smile. Drinking the rest of the water, and making a disgusted face at her. "That really /is/ unpleasant," he vocalizes, handing her the emptied glass, eyes and nose scrunched.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Cheers," Pepper repeats as he raises the glass and drinks, causing her to smile faintly. But his admission has her mind centered on that problem at hand. It is a problem. It is something he needs to get under control. Likely, he will need help with it.

"You'll survive, believe it or not. I promise." She takes the empty glass but doesn't move to get up yet, watching him closely. "Tony, I agree with you though. This is a problem. Maybe it's time to focus on it, on fixing it." He was great at doing just that, when he chose to.

She doesn't suggest he get help from an outside source. No programs or the like. That isn't his style and it would just lead to rejection, she believes. She places her hand atop his, gently squeezing. "I will be here to help in any way I can."

Iron Man has posed:
"MMmmhmm hmm," Tony laughs, leaning back on the couch with a heavy stretch of his back, and quick grin. He's intoxicated: it can be easy to forget about it, because Tony can be so highly functional even when drunk, but it always rears back up again. He's overly handsy when drunk, though he's never really shown it with her: she's not like that.

Still, he does rotate towards her, pulling his hand from her knee and drawing it up to loosely clasp the side of her neck with his palm, and then rotates his body towards her, intending to put his face against her opposite neck and shoulder. It's trusting, intimate in a non-sexual closeness, and entirely Tony.

"Or," Tony proposes, "It's fine, and I'm doing great." His tone is cheeky, amused, flippant. The obnoxious Tony that he can become on spirits. "You can help," Tony adds, suddenly. "Sure. ....Might even be more than twelve percent, on this."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"I could make an argument for fifteen," Pepper countered immediately. "or more." It always amazed her how intoxicated he could be but still remember things like that. It was just a glimpse of how brilliant he was. Even in a state like this, a thing he had said once which rubbed her wrong, could be brought up as though it happened yesterday.

She wrapped her arms around him as he leaned in, cradling him against her and closing her eyes. She leaned her head down to rest against his for a moment, that quiet moment of intimacy that had nothing to do with sexuality. It was simply the comfort being given freely and taken by a man who needed it more than he would ever admit.

"Tony, we'll talk more about it later. But we do need to talk about it. Alright?" She isn't going to press. Not now when he's in this state. Yet, she couldn't let it go anymore. He needed to face his demon and find a way to fight it. How she could get him to do that? That was the tricky part.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony clears his throat, with a deep breath. The scent of the alcohol on him at close proximity is fairly strong, but his hair doesn't smell like that, and that's mostly what's at her chin as she accepted his lean into her.

Tony commits to the movement, fingers moving softly against her neck and her ear, before he draws the hand down and instead wraps his hands loosely at her waist, instead. It allowed the tension to drop out of his shoulders. His breathing is deep and warm: and possibly down her cleavage, but he's not looking there: he has them closed against her neck.

"Sure, we can talk about it over drinks," Tony says flippantly, his voice muffled from her neck, but she may feel the smile move against her skin, as his goatee pulls in the expression.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"I'll make sure to mix them myself," Pepper offers even as she feels that smile. She has one arm around his torso and the other has shifted forward from his waist to his chest, resting her hand there to the side of where the arc reactor sits.

That threat means they won't be nearly as stong as he'll like of course.

She doesn't try to move him away. Not yet. Let him take that comfort, that feeling of being held and cared for. It was also wonderful for her, despite his condition. To feel him there with her, the vulnerability that was so at odds with the man himself in these stolen moments. She closed her eyes and turned her head to brush a kiss on the top of his head.

She didn't want to break the moment but it had to be done or he was going to end up asleep on the couch. It was a nice couch but she wanted him to make it to his bed. There, she could hold him until he slept and he would be far more comfortable. Of course, so would she.

"Tony, I worry. That's why we need to talk about it. But for now, it's dropped. Though we do need to get you to the bedroom. Think you are up for that?" She gives a bit of a press with her hand on his chest, a small hint to see how well he takes it.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony IS acting very pleasant, seeking comfort -- but the drunk part is very real. He started to lean a little too much onto her. There's the liquor problem, right there: that he started to lose it. He comes back, though, with a little cough, drawing his head back as if he hadn't had any problem. The disorientation is clear, despite is attempt to cover it. He moves a hand from her waist and scrubs his face once, squinching his eyes close, then looking at her.

The look is steady, but intoxicated. "Yeah, always," Tony says, having caught the end of what she was talking about, it appears. "Always up for a bedroom adventure," Tony flirts, with a snap-point, but there's a drag to it: he's going through the motion.

He rolls back to sit normally on the couch, picking up the glass (of ice), and attempts to drink from it. There's nothing but ice, and he looks surprised by that fact. He instead offers her the glass and starts to push to his feet, stumbling a little due to the brace, but managing. "No problem, Pep."

Pepper Potts has posed:
If he makes it to the bedroom, it's going to be a miracle. She really needed him to build a bot to help her in times like this. If he didn't quit drinking, she was going to ask for one.

"I'll go with you. I'll get some more water for you once we are in there." Pepper took the glass but immediately set it back down on the table for now as she rose next to him. She didn't try to take his hand, though she dearly wanted to. He might need it to steady himself and she wasn't going to have it occupied.

She moved around the table to the end of the couch beside him, an escort or a leaning post, depending on what he needed.

She quickly glanced at the floor, finding another pillow down there and kicking it to the side out of the way before scanning the path to the bedroom for any more potential hazards.

Iron Man has posed:
The brace is causing more trouble than the pillows of the path, and he automatically drops his hand down the side, starting to key down through the auto-release on the fancy red and golden invention, clearly going to free himself from it. It pops away in less than a second, and he draws it off sideways, sort of hands it to Pepper as he swans by her towards the bedroom. He manages to dodge the couch that felt like it just jumped out at him, but does successfully make the bedroom! Highly functioning!

"More water, huh? We need to talk about bribes, and how to do them correctly," Tony teases as he walks into his enormous bedroom. He's pulled his shirt off now, flung in the general direction of the hamper, and disappears into the bathroom. Tony's functionality goes in and out. In this case he ends up using some mouthwash before coming back out to the bed and collapsing on it with a grunt.

Pepper Potts has posed:
For a moment, Pepper is stuck there with a brace in her hands, held at waist level. She frowns a little as he wanders off without it again. True, he is much steadier on his feet but the fact he was having to endanger his own recovery to be able to walk? A bit more annoyance was creeping in to join the concern.

This had to stop.

She followed, lowering the brace to be held in her left hand, dangling there. As he missed the hamper, she immediately moved to pick up the offensive piece of clothing and tossed it into the bin. Then she moved to his side of the bed, putting the brace where he kept it so it would be handy in the morning when he got up.

His return from the bathroom was faster than expected and she had no idea what he had done while in there. For now. "True. Let's try this one. How about you let me undress you?" Nothing sexual there either. She just wants him to be comfortable when he finally passes out.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony's face is in his pillow, bare back exposed. He has socks on, and his slacks. "Oooo baby," comes Tony's muffled voice from the pillow. The arc reactor was very bright, at least until he landed face-down on the bed; it's very dark in the room, now, except for the shaft of light from the bathroom.

There is then... a total lack of response, as his body eases into relaxation, one hand drifting and then loosely hanging off the bed. At some point the highly functional also ends: with sleep, in this case. He'll be fine: he does this ... all the time.

Pepper Potts has posed:
As he makes his joke, she is slipping out of her shoes. Before she can manage to pick them up and carry them to the closet, he's out. She paused a moment, listening to the steady breathing and noting how his entire body was completely relaxed.

Now that he couldn't see, the worry was there in the lines of her face and reflected in her eyes. She padded on silent feet over to his side, carefully unfastening his belt and managing to pull it out of the loops. There was no chance she'd be able to undress him completely though. She moved to the closet and pulled down a folded blanket, bringing it over and spreading it over his prone form. A gentle turning of his head so he wasn't face down in the pillow and could breathe more easily.

She brushed her fingers through his hair, a loving caress that showed the feelings she never confessed. It would be awkward to do so, causing pressure for him and their relationship. That was the last thing she wanted.

She leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. That's when she smelled the minty freshness and couldn't help smiling a bit. For a long moment, she just watched him sleep, listening to the even breathing. Then she turned to finish getting ready for bed.