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Post by Tony Stark on Jul 10, 2012 13:57:32 GMT -5
Location: Tony's House in Malibu
Date: Early December 2012
Time of Day: 3 PMTinkering in the workshop was his main hobby. If he wasn't at work, fighting crime, or making Pepper's life difficult, Tony was in his workshop. And by tinkering, that meant he was usually welding something incredibly flashy and unnecessary.
Today's random toy was a new compact unit for his armor, similar to the one he'd used on the racetrack in Monaco, for trips he couldn't bring a normal sized suit of armor on, and so Pepper didn't have to argue with his pilot about how much it weighed every time.
Tony figured the man was just cranky because Pepper had fired the stripper flight attendants, not his call.
For now, he'd just focus on his tools, he didn't want to waste any of the gold alloy. Over the sound of the flame, Tony hadn't even noticed someone typing in their passcode to enter the room.
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Post by Virginia Potts on Jul 10, 2012 18:16:04 GMT -5
* * *Pepper’s fingers typed in her 16 digit passcode from sheer muscle memory; she never even looked at the keys anymore. Her heels made their signature click-click noise against the tile, and she smartly avoided the glow of the welding torch by shielding her eyes with the clipboard in her hands.
“You’re not picking up your calls,” she noted, neither surprised nor upset. This was just something you learned to live with when you’d known Tony for as long as she had.
The clipboard in her hands held a tiring list of details, most of which would be obsolete by midnight. That was the world of Stark Industries: fast paced. She worked hard to keep up with it, and sometimes that included tracking down the absentee boss who would rather play in his workshop that answer his phone.
“I just came down to – listen, could you stop that for just a minute, Tony? I can’t look up while you’ve got it on, you know.” She looked down, straightening her blazer as she waited to hear the cutoff of the machine. “I just came down to ask about fitting times. I assume you’ll want a new suit. For the gala, if that wasn't clear.” * * *
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Post by Tony Stark on Jul 10, 2012 20:41:42 GMT -5
Tony missed most of the first part, something about calls? Oh, right, his phone was over by the computer because he didn't want it near his blowtorch. That seemed fair to him, after all, with the way Tony went through cell phones, Pepper should have been proud of him. At least he hadn't used it to test a super magnet this time, that argument had been one which Tony suspected was more than just about his habit for destroying work related things. Maybe it had been her birthday he missed, Tony would have to ask Jarvis.
“I just came down to – listen, could you stop that for just a minute, Tony? I can’t look up while you’ve got it on, you know.”
Killing the flame on the torch, Tony lifted his goggles of his eyes and tilted his head, "Hm? Did you say something dear? I was making a new toy." He was referring to his armors as toys this month. After one of the Governors, the one from Texas, Tony believed, claimed that he treated his armors like they were such. So, given his combative nature, Tony gave the man exactly what he wanted.
“I just came down to ask about fitting times. I assume you’ll want a new suit. For the gala, if that wasn't clear.”
"Oh, right, the gala. I just invited the Avengers, by the way, hope you don't mind." Besides Pepper, Rhoadie and Happy, the Avengers were Tony's closest friends, even though he only called them that to himself.
"Promise I'll try and keep Thor away from the ice sculpture, but you know how he is around things that are, shaped like animals and made out of something other than the animal itself." Tony recalled an incident where Thor had smashed up a stone bear, because it had looked hungry and wanted to fight.
Thinking about getting a suit, Stark nodded, "Yeah, new suit, good idea. What are you wearing? I'll match you." He was itching to pull the goggles either back down, or completely off. Deciding it was safer for his well being to pay attention, Tony decided off it was, play time was over for now. |
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Post by Virginia Potts on Jul 11, 2012 20:40:18 GMT -5
* * *Pepper resisted the urge to roll her eyes for probably the millionth time in their relationship.
“I’m wearing blush. It’s a very light silver pink.” The man was a genius, but he was a man, and she didn’t expect him to know what blush was. “It’s Prada, if that helps”
Between them, Tony was definitely the more label-conscious. She didn’t much care, though she confessed a fondness for Mr. Louboutin’s shoes. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be wearing them at this soiree; in fact, she’d already forgotten the label of the ones that matched the dress.
“And of course I don’t mind; in fact, I put them on the guestlist two weeks ago.”
It was her way of reminding him she was a step ahead, and she smiled sunnily up at him, eyes flickering over to his work.
“What’s the toy this week…”
She was almost afraid to hear the answer. Once upon a time, she’d thought his tinkering was harmless. And once upon a time, maybe it was; in his early years, he’d been more concerned with a few tawdry inventions that had made for ample conversations at parties, but had done little, if any, actual good. He was much better these days, and that’s what both impressed and worried her.
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Post by Tony Stark on Jul 11, 2012 21:03:08 GMT -5
“I’m wearing blush. It’s a very light silver pink.”
Tony tilted his head in confusion. Blush was a dress color now? That was news to him.
“It’s Prada, if that helps”'
"Ah," Tony nodded, "Gotcha. That I can handle." Prada was easy for Tony. He might not even have to call his secret stylist that Pepper didn't know he used to help him match her when she gave him a real challenge. He'd find something just right for the occasion, and certainly win the 'best dressed superhero' contest that wasn't happening anywhere besides Tony's head. He was always a winner in his own head after all. He nodded when Pepper noted she'd already listed the Avengers as guests.
"Oh, and whatshisname. The one in the building not as cool as ours, with Susan Storm and Fire Guy, and Rock Guy. Can you send them an invite?" Tony snapped his fingers, trying to remember what the man's name was, "Stretch? No, he stretches, his name isn't stretch. You gotta help me out here Pepper, I'm drawing a blank. They were blue, there are four of them." He was racking his brain now. Then, with a shrug, he gave up on trying to figure it out, Pepper probably had it all figured out anyway.
“What’s the toy this week…”
Tony grinned and showed off his workbench, "Glad you asked. I'm working on a compact armor that'll respond to body size, rather than simply being my size. I found an alloy that is protective enough, but also loose enough to mold to someone's frame. I'm thinking this one will be silver and red, like the Mark V." He pulled up a holographic rectangle, no bigger than Pepper's usual working briefcase, "This is what it'll look like when it's inactive. I haven't decided if I'll specialize it any more than that, or when I'll get to wear it." |
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Post by Virginia Potts on Jul 13, 2012 21:22:15 GMT -5
* * *”You gotta help me out here Pepper, I'm drawing a blank.”
“Dr. Richards, Tony. Reed. He’s a powerhouse of information, you must have been reading his dissertations for years now. Even I’ve read a few of his papers, that’s how important he is.”
She abandoned interest in the sheets on the clipboard, talking over him like she usually did. It was the only way to get a word in edgewise when you worked for Tony Stark.
“Are you feeling ok…”
Her eyes narrowed a little as she took him in. This was the same kinetic energy he so often had in the lab, all frenzy and enthusiasm, and she figured he was just having one of his moments. Sometimes he did that, forgot monumental details of real life when he was engrossed in his work. She supposed it was the price to be paid when you were as meticulous as he was.
Looking over the hologram, she aimed for an appropriate amount of awe. She knew he liked to be appreciated, and truthfully she was impressed, but he knew she liked it when he answered his phone, especially during business hours, so fair was fair.
“Genius as always, Mr. Stark.” She stepped close now that he’d turned off the torch, brushing a kiss to his cheek. “Well, if you want to dress yourself, that answers my question. I’ll leave you to it.”
She smiled, a hint of mischief in her eyes, and made no move to leave, purposely blocking his view of the workspace. * * *
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Post by Tony Stark on Jul 14, 2012 10:14:33 GMT -5
“Are you feeling ok…”
"I'm great," Tony answered, looking over the completed image. He was a little wrapped up in his work, perhaps a bit more than he should have been. This armor was going to be a big change, Tony could just feel like he was onto something. Right now, he needed to test the elasticity of the metals. He blinked a few times, then remembered that Pepper was right there in front of him.
“Genius as always, Mr. Stark.” She stepped close now that he’d turned off the torch, brushing a kiss to his cheek. “Well, if you want to dress yourself, that answers my question. I’ll leave you to it.”
She wasn't going anywhere, but Tony put a hand on her waist, "Well, you don't have to go anywhere just yet." He paused to come up with an excuse for her to not work, "Besides, CEO's get to have three breaks a day, instead of two. It's in the new rulebook, that hasn't been published. And, you're a partner, so I don't really see why you should be working so hard all the time, don't you have an assistant or something?"
Pepper was in the way of the armor, but Tony didn't mind, his eyes were on, something else.
"Call in an, extended second lunch." |
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Post by Virginia Potts on Jul 14, 2012 14:57:31 GMT -5
* * *”An 'extended second lunch?'” Pepper repeated, amusement and incredulity dripping from her voice. “You do realise things actually have to get done around here, correct?”
She tapped her pen idly against the clipboard, systematically ignoring every last task on its list. While she had a strict hands-off rule in the workplace, this wasn’t exactly the workplace; she didn’t know how many people had access to these levels, but she was sure it wasn’t many. And of the people she was sure had access, James was no doubt on base somewhere, and Dr. Banner had a lab of his own. They weren’t likely to be disturbed.
Resting the clipboard against her chest, she leaned her hips back against the worktable, reaching up to move his hair from his eyes.
“How about you – did you even take a first lunch today?”
It would be just like him to have been down here for hours. She had been swamped this morning in the office, jumping into her usual mode of hyperproductivity, and she hadn’t heard from him. That fact wasn’t exactly unusual, but now she wondered if he’d been here the whole time.
“…Because I’ll take one if you come with me.”
She bit her bottom lip, just for a moment. Pepper was baiting him, true – but she did love the way Tony did lunch breaks. * * *
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Post by Tony Stark on Jul 14, 2012 21:30:56 GMT -5
“How about you – did you even take a first lunch today?”
"Um," Tony tried to remember if he'd had lunch today. After a moment, he shook his head, "No. No, did not have lunch today."
“…Because I’ll take one if you come with me.” Tony smiled a little bit, because they were probably thinking the same thing. Pepper liked to play innocent and bashful, but alone, they certainly knew how to have fun. As soon as he could get out of 'workshop mode', they'd go upstairs and have a nice afternoon. Maybe he could convince Pepper to take the rest of the day off. It was a long shot, but on a good day, Pepper had a hard time saying no to whatever he asked from her.
His eyes kept drifting down to Pepper's fingers. He rubbed the back of his head before saying, "Hey Pepper, how big is your hand again?" He looked again before picking up the experimental gauntlet, "Come here a second before we go. I wanna see if something I'm working on is built properly."
Not waiting for her to agree or give him her hand, Tony placed the arm on and watched as it began to shrink over like a second skin, perfectly attaching to Pepper's arm. Tony grinned and said, "Perfect. This suit can attach to any person I give permission to pilot it. I just wanted to make sure that it worked." Not thinking that Pepper would ever be interested in such a thing, Tony grinned and pressed the button to release the gauntlet off of Pepper. "Perfect, now we can go upstairs." |
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Post by Virginia Potts on Jul 16, 2012 23:53:38 GMT -5
* * *She tried not to sigh. Really, she made a massive effort. But she couldn’t hold back a soft noise of disappointment; he was so bad at taking care of himself. Not that this was any sort of surprising revelation. That trait was as much a part of Tony as his own hand.
“Come on, then.” She leaned in, brushing a quick kiss against the corner of his mouth, back to business as usual as she was confronted for the umpteenth time in her life with the task of his well-being. She slipped her fingers against his palm, intent on leading him out of the workspace for a few hours at least; she had a few ideas for compelling arguments if he gave her any trouble.
The next thing she knew, he was pulling her arm out to something. She remembered all the times in the past when she’d lent a hand, and they were usually unpleasant. Her eyes widened marginally and she pulled back, reluctant.
"Tony, I'd really rather n--"
But it was too late.
The armour closed around her, curiously cool and, after a moment, smooth. She flexed her fingers once, and breathed a sigh of relief she hadn’t realised she was holding when he pressed the release button. Holding her hand up, she immediately inspected it, not finding so much as a scratch on her manicure.
“Right…” she said, puzzling over the technology before she decided it wasn’t relevant, “…upstairs.”
Her lips curved into the soft smile they so often wore around Tony, and she locked the lab on their way out, pausing onto to speak to the AI.
“Jarvis, would you put in an order for shawarma, please? Delivery. The usual.” * * *
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Post by Tony Stark on Jul 17, 2012 0:17:42 GMT -5
Tony grinned as Pepper inspected her armored hand. He could tell she was trying to be cool, but somewhere, she was pretty impressed with him and his inventions. Pepper was the one person he didn't need to hear say it to him, but was stoked whenever she did give him some verbal praise. She could get him going quite easily. His grin turned into a smirk as she moved to take him out of the workshop, he had momentarily thought of tossing Pepper into the back of one of the cars he was rebuilding.
Or maybe. Tony looked at the work bench. Maybe if he moved a few things.
“Right…upstairs.”
Damn, timing was everything. Tony followed Pepper dutifully, lunch was important after all.
“Jarvis, would you put in an order for shawarma, please? Delivery. The usual.”
Oh, that sounded good.
"Of course Miss Potts. Expect the delivery in forty minutes."
Tony perked up, another chance!
As soon as they reached the living room, Tony gave Pepper a playful push onto the white curved sofa, then Tony climbed over her just a bit. He grinned before saying, "Forty minutes is a long time Pepper. I'm going to need something to preoccupy myself." He took the hand that had just been armored, kissing Pepper's knuckles, then started to make a trail up her arm. If she tried to fight him off, Tony would probably only be slowed down for a moment. When he reached her collarbone, he looked to check on Pepper's expression. |
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Post by Virginia Potts on Jul 17, 2012 13:13:06 GMT -5
* * *At the entrance to their floor, Pepper toed off the stilettos she’d donned that morning, setting her down a good three inches. She was grateful for that loss as she toppled gently onto the modern sofa.
“Tony,” she began, her tone admonishing. Forty minutes was a lot of time. She had her laptop in the bedroom, she could be productive until their lunch arrived.
That was obviously out of the question now.
“Really?” She questioned, her smile slowly spreading as Tony’s lips moved up her arm. “That’s very Gomez Addams. You’ve even got the mustache.”
The lines at the corners of her eyes crinkled as she peered up at him, her amusement written all over her face as she resigned to her fate, squirming against the cushions a little to get comfy beneath him. The sofa may have been the perfect addition to the room as far as aesthetics went, but it look a little finesse to get comfortable on. His lips grazed her collarbone, and she took a breath, stilling against the cushions. She wasn’t really surprised; it was just like him to decide this was the best way to occupy his time. And to say she didn’t enjoy it was really a lie…
Pepper smoothed the pad of her thumb against his earlobe, meeting his gaze.
“Forty minutes, hmm? You could always use it to, I don’t know, figure out what you’re wearing to the party.”
She didn’t mean it, not really. She was happy with where he was. * * *
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Post by Tony Stark on Jul 17, 2012 13:27:52 GMT -5
“Tony.”
"Pepper."
“Really? That’s very Gomez Addams. You’ve even got the mustache.”
"Nothing puts me in the mood like a reference to 1960s television."
“Forty minutes, hmm? You could always use it to, I don’t know, figure out what you’re wearing to the party.”
Tony stopped for just a moment before saying, "A suit. Look at that, I'm a genius. That leaves thirty nine minutes, fifty, forty nine, forty eight, seconds and counting." He grinned teasingly before returning to a far pressing matter, making his way from Pepper's collarbone to her neck, and making an extended visit there. He glanced up to check Pepper's expression, then grinned mischievously before continuing his work. He might've even nipped her neck, just lightly.
He acted like a teenager for ninety percent of his day anyway, why not go for ninety five?
With an elongated kiss on her neck, Tony might have tried to leave a mark on the neck of the highest paid female CEO in America. |
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