Owner	Pose
Pepper Potts	It's later in the evening. Pepper has gotten used to Tony not really coming up for dinner. As long as he eats SOMETHING, she doesn't get on his case a lot. She dropped off some fried rice earlier with the promise of more food upstairs when he'd come, but she gave up waiting a while ago. She finished dinner and went back to the budget reconcilation that she's been working on for the end of the first quarter. And then the unexpected happened. Her mother called. It's been a long time. The assassination threats and then the moving in, she has neglected to actually talk to her mom in a while. It means she can't dodge the phone call. She started it sitting, a face time call on her tablet, but now she's gone to pacing as her mother goes on about some boring gossip back home. It's better than being drilled about why she hasn't called. Pepper continues her pacing, in her sweats and lounging sweater for the night already, her bare feet carring her back and forth over the posh apartment. "Wait, Virginia, where ARE you? That's not your apartment. Are you at a hotel?? WHY are you at a hotel?" Her mother's slightly higher pitched, demanding voice comes across the screen.
Tony Stark	The first sounds of Tony is his voice, the call out, "JARVIS? Hey buddy, listen up. I need you to get those spec over to the aeronautical division as quickly as," As the man reaches the tops of the steps and rounds the corner into the wide expanse of living room, seeing the form and figure of Pepper reminds him of yet one more thing he has to do. <<Yes, sir.>> "Pep, I need-" As she comes around into view once more, he pauses, catching the fact she's on the phone with //someone else// and not paying 100% attention to him at this very moment. He's dressed in his 'testing' clothes; form fitting black short sleeved shirt, black pants, sneakers. He's probably got (no, definitely) a few new bruises on his arms, but its obviously not causing him any distress. What is causing it is, "Pepper?" He crosses the room towards the bar, ready to pull his decanter from the shelf in order to fill his tumbler, finishing, "Hurry up. I need you to take a look at some of these prints I made."
Pepper Potts	Green eyes go a bit more wide as she realizes she's suddenly pulled between Tony *and her mother*. This is the worst decision. Pepper gives a little, panicked look in Tony's direction before smiling back to her mom over the tablet, "No, no. I mean... yes, sort of... Not a hotel. I moved..." Pepper stammers out, but there is something very little-girl about her right now. She's a nervous, freckled teenager and not the graceful woman that Tony knows. "Virginia?! Are you still WORKING? Is that Mr. Stark? He never gives you time off, DOES HE? I told you that you should have taken that offer from Center Life. Then you'd be setting your own hours!" Pepper's cheeks only deepen in blush and she looks up to Tony, over the edge of the tablet. "Uh... I... I need a few minutes, Tony." If he bothers to look at the screen, there is no DOUBT that it's Pepper's mother there. The same nose, same hair perfectly dyed to the right red. She has tasteful wrinkles and a thinner mouth, but they are definitely related.
Tony Stark	The scotch is indeed poured, the decanter re-stoppered and set upon the bar's countertop. Brows rise at the sound of the video call, the distinct .. near sameness in speech patterns, in tone, and almost the same rise in a time of considered stress. His head cants before it rises slightly, a smile ghosting at the edges of his lips. "Told you you should have asked your parents." It's a slow, deliberate walk across the room; he's got drink in hand, and his path is taking him towards Pepper. No.. 'Virginia'. There are times when he forgets that she's actually got a different name than the one he'd bestowed upon her years ago. The nickname had apparently stuck. Coming up beside her, Tony's in good spirits as he greets her mater cheerily, "Good evening, Mrs Potts." Need he say more?
Pepper Potts	Her mother's continued commentary on not choosing Center Life's offer, something Pepper hadn't even told Tony, makes her wince quietly. She keeps the screen open, not going to hang up on her mother, but holds her other hand up, palm forward, in a gesture that is trying to claim some sort of innocence, "I didn't want to *work* for Center Life, mum, I told you. I'm happy where I am! And... y-yes. That is... Mr. Stark." It felt weird just to say his name that formally, but she's clearly not told her parents yet. As he comes onto the screen, the very excellent-dye job, tasteful retirement age redhead looks him up and down as best she can across a tablet camera. Her lips purse just a little tighter with a certain amount of impatience, "Mr. Stark, I understand your company runs 24/7 but it really is unnecessary to keep my daughter working this time of night. Is that a... drink in your hand? Are you drinking and working?" She asks, her attitude all Vermont and rather disapproving through her worry.
Tony Stark	Clearly, which gains a touch of one of his own //looks// towards Pepper; the sort of keen, amused and slightly mischievous gleams. "If Ms Potts had gone to work for Center Life, she'd be embroiled in an SEC investigation right about now," that's not in the news?! "And she'd be facing censure, a $500,000 fine and possible jail time." He says it so matter of factly that it's hard to know if he's telling the truth or not. The drink is raised, a swallow taken, and he continues, "She's safer with me." After all, isn't that what parents want? The drink in his hand is looked at, perhaps a touch theatrically, and a step back is taken, not quite out of the frame, but allowing for Pepper's continued 'front and center'. "We are an international corporation, Mrs Potts. Your daughter is instrumental in some of the .. negotiations with other firms around the world. And, she's made herself absolutely irreplaceable to me."
Pepper Potts	Pepper is very careful to keep her face neutral about the Center Life matter, even if she hadn't heard those rumors. It doesn't mean it's not true, but she generally knows thingss. She just gives Tony a curious, sideways look and tries to keep a wince off her features as she mentally plays out how this is going to go down. She takes a breath and sets a smile on her face, trying to get a word in, but just as she opens her mouth her mother starts speaking again. "I haven't heard any concerns about Center Life in the news, Mr. Stark, and maybe if my little girl was there she could have saved them from such a mess." Likely true. After all, the reason Pepper first came to Tony's attention all those years ago was she caught some very well buried accounting errors in their books, someone embezzling carefully and paying people off, that could have been very bad for Tony. But she, a little no one accounting assistant, saved the day. She gives a bit of a proud smile at that thought. "Likely, mother, but I'm not there. I'm *here*. And I love working for Mr. Stark and I'm NOT looking for another job. I promise, I'll take some time off soon. It's fine. I'm not working too hard." Pepper tries to reassure her before giving Tony a softer smile. "Yes, well, I hope you are earning time off for all this over time. Your father and I would very much like you to come visit soon. It's been too long. Do you hear tat, Mr. Stark? Give my little girl some leave soon. I'm not getting any younger and she hasn't been back in almost a year. THings can't be that busy ALL the time..."
Tony Stark	Tony shrugs lightly in Mother Potts' admission that she hadn't heard the news, "Likely because it hasn't hit the news yet." Yet. He glances at Pepper and nods; it'll be happening, and soon. He, too, knows people. Or rather, does have contacts in Washington, still. "Trust me." How could one //not// trust that face?! Once done playing, Tony does retreat a little further back; he's not going to toss the grenade back in Pepper's lap and tell them that she //has// the time. Nope. "Promise. When this current deal is signed and delivered, I'll make sure your daughter has the time to get home, even if I have to put her on the helicopter myself." How can he resist that? He wanders a little further away, now, and sets up at his desk, turning on his holo-displays; he still has the aircraft that has to get designed and out within 6 months..
Pepper Potts	There was probably a part of Pepper that was just waiting for Tony to waltz in, say something, and then Pepper will have to clean up the pieces. But then they will know. However, he doesn't do that. He ducks in, promises her to go home (which does earn him a little bit of a glare), and then steps away. Pepper is left blinking between them. If she doesn't say it now, she'd know somewhere else and they'd be in real trouble. "Look, Mom, I... I'm not working." Pepper looks back to Tony with a somewhat softer smile. He's wondered away to his desk but she now scoops up the tablet, carrying it over in Tony's direction and setting it on his desk so they can both get into the camera. "I... Tony and I are... Together. I've moved in. I live here now. I know, I know! I know it's... unconventional. I know what people are going to say. I know. But I love him, and I'm...Home." She leans over, pressing a quiet kiss to the corner of his mouth. For her part, Pepper's mother stares in absolute shock. Her green eyes are a little too wide, jerking between the pair of them, before she finally levels a glare at Tony, "Mr. Stark. What do you have to say for yourself??"
Tony Stark	Tony has his head down, and he's back to work, but that doesn't mean he's not listening. The hint of a smile is still there, but it's turned inward, just a little. He's proclaimed that he's not sentimental, that he doesn't hold some of those feelings for 'old stuff', but .. he's listening to mother and daughter. Would his mother have been happy with him? Who knows, but probably. Maybe. But there's no 'great reveal' there. Media is the next best thing, and while it's not intimate, it is what he knows. Looking up at the sounds of Pepper's 'confession', she may catch a touch of that at the end before he fixes his expression, and brows rise. He straightens a little more as she makes the cross, and a hand rises to rest at the small of her back. "For myself? You heard her. It's not about me." Can that be put on repeat? "She's a smart, talented, wonderful woman, and you should be proud of her. I know I am. I just hope I don't disappoint her." Love? If that's not the sound of a man in love, without actually saying it?
Pepper Potts	The woman is skeptical, this much is clear. Her jaw sets, studying the pair of them, even if she can't stay entirely angry at the look on her daughter's face. Pepper looks happy. Genuinely, absolutely, utterly happy. And more relaxed than her mother has seen her in sometime. Even if Tony Stark is a known playboy, there is something different about his demeanor as well. She finally sighs. "Well... good answer, Mr. Stark. Even if I don't approve of this... Dating your boss business. And I know the reputation you have. If you break my little girl's heart, I will be down there and you WON'T hear the end of it, you understand? She could work for any company in the world..." And be with any man in the world, is the implication. "But she's with you. Don't make her regret it." Pepper rolls her eyes slightly, a blush trickling up beneath her freckles as she squeezes Tony's shoulder gently and rests the side of her temple against his. "You don't disappointment. And I am happy, Mum. Truly happy." She admits earnestly. The other redhead lets a few more heartbeats pass before giving a single nod, "Very well then. Mr. Stark, I expect you to to join her when she takes that time off. I'd like to meet the man who has claimed my daughter so thoroughly. I'm sure her father would enjoy your company as well."
Tony Stark	//Known playboy// doesn't even begin to cut it. That, and the numerous issues of him on the cover, the GQs over the years proclaiming him as the world's most eligible bachelor.. it's only right that concerns are there. Allayed, who knows? The hand that had fallen to the small of her back moves round to her waist, holding her now as she moves in for more contact. It should be obvious that they are most definitely a couple; there's no discomfort, there's no self-consciousness there. He's been on his own forever now, it seems, and there's no one he has to impress. But, there's something there that he does want to be sure her parents are comfortable with it all. "Oh, she regrets it every day, Mrs Potts," Tony quips. "For some reason, she keeps coming back." He's joking! "But," and there's a hint of something a little more serious that comes in the undertones, "I'll never deliberately hurt her. Or let her come to harm. She's the most important thing to me, and I mean that." He turns his head slightly, giving her a light kiss on the forehead as their temples rest together. "As to my visiting? Ahhhh.." Now he sounds the cornered beau. "I said that I'll make sure she makes it out?"