Saturday Night: Date time [Tony/Pepper]

[playboy_philanthropist]

Tony had instructed JARVIS to keep an eye on everything and do all in his power to keep everything under control. The computer system was only to contact them if it was an extreme emergency. Which Tony figured there was a 57% chance of happening considering all the recent events. Precautions though and he had made it clear that JARVIS better have a really good reason to interrupt his date. Not that interruptions weren't something they were used to. Between the multiple facets of the company, Iron Man, and now the Avengers, well, it was a wonderful whack-a-mole of interruptions and distractions. But he was trying to decrease those chances, even if having the 'god' who nearly destroyed Earth move in had thrown a wrench into the mix.

They were going low-key tonight. At least in locales. He was still well dressed in a tailored suit, partly because of habit, partly because he found the multiple layers covered his special glow the best. Dinner though was at the Brooklyn Diner, a good mix of comfort food from many different ethnic groups along with some upscale versions like lobster mac & cheese.

Once they were seated in a booth by the front windows and he ordered a bottle of wine, he glanced over the menu with vague interest before he raised an eyebrow. "So, should we start placing bets on what state the tower will be in when we get back? Because I'm leaning towards completely drained bar and..." He scrunched his nose up in thought. "I'll go with one broken vase and two holes in walls. You?"

Comments

[pepperinapot]

Pepper had disgarded the idea of a cocktail dress when they opted to go more casual. It was nice really, to pull on a pencil skirt and thin white cotton blouse like she was still just a P.A. She left her hair down and enjoyed the feel of it on her face.

Being out on a simple date without papparazzi or alternate agenda was already good. They could relax a little. She slid her leg forward to rest against Tony's under the table, admiring the sharp lines of his suit and the thoughtful expression on his face.

"Are we going to be the couple that can only talk about the children when we're out without them?" She teased.

[playboy_philanthropist]

Tony's lips quirked up in a smirk as his eyes raised to look at Pepper and he pointed at her. "I'd like the record to show you made that comparison first, not me. You adopted them first. Let all my lawyers know, will you?" His eyes went back down to his menu. "Although if all we had to worry about was the tower being buried in red solo cups, we'd be all set for that. Or, well, you'd be all set for that."

[pepperinapot]

That brought back a few less than pleasant memories, but she shook them off. Tony was here now before her, relatively hale and hearty. Maybe he would always be reckless, but they'd gone to rock bottom and survived.

"I will agree to adopting Steve. The rest I have to get to know." She glanced over the menu then set it aside. "I think they'll behave. After we both gave them hell for taking company property. I hope you gave JARVIS a what for over that one."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"You'll have to adopt him on your own," Tony said as he made a face. "That gets a bit too 'I'm my own grandpa' for my tastes." Tossing his menu aside, he stretched out in his booth seat, his arm across the top and his leg pressing snugger against Pepper's. "I tried, but he wasn't at fault. They used logic on him. Real logic, not Stark logic. He has no immunity against that. No matter how much personality he learns."

Puffing out a sigh, he leaned forward to rest his arms against the table. "So, your opinion. Our newest 'guest'. Worst idea ever? Have I ever had any ideas worse than that? Wait, no, don't answer that. I like thinking all my ideas are good ones. Brilliant, magnificent ideas."

[pepperinapot]

"It is a bit melodramatic. I suppose your father would have been happy that you were here though if he couldn't be when they finally found him." She knew she was on shaky territory mentioning Howard to explicitly, but she did think that he would be happy to know Tony had taken Steve in, all these years later. "I hate when people use his mind against him. It seems unfair."

If she had come to regard JARVIS as more of a friend than a computer, she could only blame it on his creator. After all, Tony worked hard to make JARVIS a good person and in the bad old days, the light British voice had sometimes been her only companion as she tried to hold Tony and Stark Industries together.

"Worst idea ever." She agreed. "None of your ideas were this bad, including the ones that blew things up. At least you weren't actievely bringing home the enemey."

Something stuck in her throat, a hot lump of feeling. "He killed Phil...I don't know that I can ever get past that. And now he'll be in our home and I have to look at him..."

Pepper firmly did not cry. But she did take a long sip of ice water.

[playboy_philanthropist]

Tony's jaw clenched as he leaned back again. He wasn't sure how his father would feel. Probably glad to have such a successful experiment under Stark Industries' roof. Probably disappointed that Tony hadn't wasted the time to pull the Capsicle out of the ocean himself. Probably also disappointed that Tony wasn't pimping him out with weapons at every press conference Stark Industries had. After all, having Captain America 'in your power' was an awfully big stick to wave around and a PR dream come true. Luckily the waitress had the good graces to come by with the bottle of wine then.

"Perfect timing," he said with a big grin before waving her off once she opened the bottle. He filled Pepper's glass before filling his own and then taking a long drink. "The limitations of his programming. I really should go over it again and see if there are any patches and upgrades to close those loopholes. Just need to make sure they don't affect his witty comebacks as he's getting to be perfect in that area."

He took another smaller sip of his wine. He still thought Phil was an idiot for what he did, but he knew better than to say that to Pepper. They had been closer and he knew that his opinion was in anger. You didn't go and mess with his people, even if those people were annoying and a pain in his and JARVIS' ass. Plus he was one of the better agents in SHIELD and at least was good at banter.

"There's always Malibu," he said softly, not sure how he felt about the idea of her living cross country.

[pepperinapot]

She gathered herself back together, grateful for the arrival of the wine. Taking a bigger gulp then she would normally, she barely tasted it as it slid to her belly. It warmed her a little, brought her back to the present.

"Don't change who he is." She agreed, a little irrationally, still thinking about those lonely days. "I don't like that we could do that to him. There should be AI rights."

Malibu. She didn't even have to think about that.

"I'm not leaving you." She set down her glass of wine, reached across the table to cover his free hand with her own. "How can you even think I'd leave you like that? I can live with Loki. I can't be without you."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"I'll ask him if he wants them," Tony said, even though it was the silliest thing ever. He doubted JARVIS would turn down anything that Tony offered. There was a hierarchy and Tony was at the top of it. All the same though, there was a reason he didn't mess with JARVIS' programming too much. He liked the computer and they worked well together. And even if Pepper said tech didn't count, he did view JARVIS as a friend. A friend he had made, but still a friend.

Even though the selfish part of him had been thinking the same thing, he wasn't prepared for Pepper's words or actions. They were honest, blunt, and very serious. He still wasn't used to serious. Especially this sort of straight-forward serious. He cleared his throat as he tapped his fingers against the table a moment before turning his hand over under Pepper's.

"I wasn't really thinking that. I was thinking you'd be spending some time in Malibu with me visiting or you visiting, could go either way really. Maybe some vacation home instead. The options are limitless really. I gave Fury a month too. If things aren't looking good, I'm tempted to drag the fucker to the bottom of the ocean myself. But it's not like a permanent thing, just figured it was an option if you didn't want to look at Loki, which I really don't blame you on. Kind of looks a bit ferrety, doesn't he? Not the cute ones either, but the starved ones who want to gnaw off your kneecaps..."

[pepperinapot]

"Thank you." She knew she was probably being ridiculous, but she appreciated Tony making the concession anyway. Maybe part of it was she knew that sometimes JARVIS kept Tony alive in that suit.

The torrent of words jarred her a little, but she settled in to listen. Before they had dated, she spent most of her time barely listening to Tony's rants. Keywords would leap out at her while she typed up an e-mail or planned a shopping list. Generally, it had seemed like he just wanted her to look interested and make a smart quip once and a while.

Now though, she realized that he gave away a lot during these one sided chats. She listened closely, frowning a little as she absorbed all of that.

"Tony." She said firmly when she thought she had the gist of it. "I'm staying here. Thank you for setting a limit with Fury though I doubt we have much choice in the matter. I'm out most of the day, I will most likely be able to avoid Loki if I want to."

Which she most fervently did for now.

[playboy_philanthropist]

"Yeah, war with Asgard isn't real high on my fun time hobbies list," Tony said with a twist of his lips. "For now our hands are tied, but some loophole will pop up. Although they really need to stop letting him sneak out here for us to deal with. Someone needs to call child protective services on them. Knowing mythology, they likely don't have that over there. Otherwise everyone would be in trouble."

Even as he spoke, he mentally rearranged the priorities on his work list, his fingers lightly tapping at the table. He figured this one would be easy enough to remember without a reminder. After all, with Pepper so intent on staying, the sooner he got that contingency escape plan fully done the better, even if she'd be out working most days. It'd give him a little peace of mind, even if he knew Pepper was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But he knew far too well how vulnerable they all were when the extreme situations popped up.

He took a sip of his wine before he raised an eyebrow. "So, what are you getting? Or have we completely ruined the whole dinner appetite? Because I was really looking forward to the chicken pot pie."

[pepperinapot]

"If you go by the myths..." She wrinkled her nose remembering some odds and ends from long ago college courses. "Well. Let's just say we shouldn't let Loki near the livestock. If we had livestock."

"I still have an appetite." It surged as she glanced back over the menu. Lunch had been a protein bar, barely remembered at three and breakfast non-existent. Sometimes she thought as much as she nagged Tony about regular meals that she could be nearly as bad. "I like the sound of lasagna pie. I haven't had good lasagna in a while."

Setting down the menu, she gave him a smile, aiming for a more meal conducive topic, "So how are you dealing with sharing your space?"

[playboy_philanthropist]

"Maybe we should get him some. Might keep him busy enough that'll he'll give up his evil ways," Tony said with a chuckle before his brow furrowed slightly and he tilted his head back in thought. "Should cross reference all that mythology crap. See if there's some hint on getting an edge on them. Check out what SHIELD has deeper down. See if they've been sifting through it already."

He took a sip of wine before settling back into the booth and shrugging. "Nothing to deal with. Well, with the actual invited ones. It's all going well. As long as they don't take anymore of my things, of course."

[pepperinapot]

"It makes you wonder though, doesn't it? What else we thought was legend that's real? There's a dozen pantheons in Western Civilization alone. Were they all lost aliens? What about the Judeo-Christian god?" She'd been thinking about that a lot lately. She hadn't gone to church in a long time and praying tasted like ashes in her mouth. Yet, she couldn't help, but hope these days. Maybe she was wrong and there was something out there.

"I think that phase is over." It better be anyway. "I was serious about the house meeting if you think we can get everyone together."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"I think I liked it better when they were just explanations for how the world works and to control the masses before everyone realized how cool science is," Tony said with a shake of his head.

He paused in his thoughts when the waitress came by, putting in their order and waiting for her to be far enough away before starting up again. "Do you have any moderator friends who are used to high stress negotiations?" He wrinkled his nose. "Last time we all had a 'friendly discussion' while Loki was about, it didn't go well."

[pepperinapot]

"It's a little disconcerting." She caught sight of the waitress and signaled her over, ordering. "I mean, he doesn't seem like a god. Just a very sweet, very powerful man."

"I like to think I can fulfill that role." She grinned. "It should be easier now, talking over kitchen etiquette instead of life and death."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"You'll fulfill it much better than Fury. But you're also a lot easier to focus on for long periods of time. I mean, I know where I'm supposed to look with you," Tony joked, his eyes flicking down to her top in jest a moment.

He tapped his fingers against the table a moment. It was the most recent wrench through into the works, so his mind kept circling back to it. Especially now that he had mentioned the last team pow wow, only partly in jest. "Loki might be a topic. I'm certain that magic glow stick of his was messing with all of us last time. They might have a good choke-chain on him, but what if he gives that sort of aura off again? There were plenty of low blows flying around. And not just by me."

[pepperinapot]

"Eyes front, Mr. Stark." She teased, a parody of the past. "And I usually just look him in the remaining eye. Keep it simple."

She frowned, she'd be lying if she said that wasn't a concern of hers as well. It just seemed unlikely that Loki would sit back and be a passive prisoner.

"We'll have to take it as it comes. If everyone gets angry, we go back to our separate corners to blow off steam. And maybe we can agree on a 'no weapons in the living room' rule. If that makes anyone uncomfortable, we can just leave them outside the door or somewhere else close, but not within hands reach. I don't want anyone dying over grocery arrangements."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"Yeah, yeah, lawsuit, lawsuit, Ms. Potts," Tony teased back before he leaned forward. "But I always look so dashing and intimidating in the suit." He rubbed a hand over his cheek. "Problem is we have quite a few people who carry their weapons with them. And good luck convincing Thor to leave his hammer at the door."

[pepperinapot]

"Then I don't know what else to suggest." She slid her hand across the table, wiggling fingers in a demand for a hand to hold. "Aside from just telling everyone that if the volume raises, they have to take it outside. I don't think Loki will pull the same trick twice right away though. If you all get into it at the first meeting, it will probably be because you don't get along. I think fighting together should have smoothed out some of those corners."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"Cookies? Sedatives? Handcuffs? A good lesson at kumbaya from Bruce? Maybe you can drown us all in chamomile tea?" Tony supplied as he raised his eyebrows and shrugged. He rolled his eyes in show and huffed out a sigh before reaching out and squeezing her hand tenderly. "I think it smoothed out most of the working together issues, but..." He smirked. "You've seen the files. Some of these guys make me look well-adjusted. That should be a superpower in and of itself."

[pepperinapot]

"Baked goods aren't a bad idea, actually." She stroked her thumb over his, finding his callouses by memory. "There is a certain uniformity in the dossiers. I wonder if it's a prerequisite to superherodom. Must have fraught origin story."

With her other hand, she brushed her bangs back a little.

"We'll figure it out. We're all adults and if we're sharing space, we'll come to an agreement. If anyone is particularly aggravated, it's not as if they don't have their own apartments to retreat to."

[playboy_philanthropist]

Tony relaxed even though they were out in public. It wasn't anything obvious to anyone who didn't know him, but his shoulders loosened, his weight rested heavier on his elbows against the table, and his smile came a bit easier. He turned his hand into her caresses as he chuckled. "Remind me to sign up for the serum route instead of the shrapnel next time," he teased. "And how sweet, I get to be at the adult table again. I must be having a good week if I get to sit there again." He chuckled again. "And there was the key in everyone with their own floor. Brilliant idea that." Of course, the other good part of that was that it'd make containment easier as well if it ever came to that.

[pepperinapot]

Pepper watched him relax with pride. She had done that. It would never get tiring to her to be the one that took care of him, when he allowed it. That he might fractionally ease away some of the heavy burden he'd chosen to carry.

"If we get another go around, I would vote for something a little quieter. Something bucolic." She teased. "Though you'd probably be a terrible farmer and I'd be a worse housewife."

"It was a good idea. Do I get 12% of that one too?"

[playboy_philanthropist]

"Oh, fancy words," Tony said with a chuckle. "You know you'd end up spinning and singing on a hillside about wanting more than the provincial life." He pursed his lips together. "And I'm going to stop that comparison there because while he's handsome and admired, I'm shaping myself up to be Gaston. Not very flattering at all."

He pretended to think on the matter a moment. "There was always opportunities to negotiate up to 15%. I might be able to go up to 17, but you know, still did an awful lot of that heavy lifting and all that. Unless the moment we're having is directly related. I could go higher if that rule's still in place."

[pepperinapot]

"Belle was always the best princess though." She liked Disney films and she wasn't going to be embarrassed about it. "She had goals. And I think you'd be the Beast, not Gaston...but that's probably an awful comparison too."

Actually, maybe it it was a little TOO on the nose.

"All our moments count." She grinned. "Including this one. So maybe 20%?"

[playboy_philanthropist]

"I suppose I should be flattered, you going for the hero automatically instead of the crazy dad," Tony joked before he made a face. "Because we all know I'd be the crazy dad. Except my inventions would work. And I'd have taken over the town already. And made them my minions."

He chuckled. "All the moments count and you're only going for 20%? I don't know whether to be wounded or honored. Although I like the sound of 19% better. Or 21. We can go with 21. I have been feeling awfully generous lately."

[pepperinapot]

"Oh, I don't know. The Beast is an arrogant young man that offends the wrong person, suffers awful consequences, but learns quickly that being kind and using his powers well will restore him to better than former glory." She smiled slightly. "It's not quite apt though. But fairy tales aren't that nuanced."

"Don't hurt yourself." She snorted. "One day I trust we'll get to fifty and then the world will end in horror of the equality of it all."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"You aren't talking sense again. I think you've been spending too much time in the office with all that printer ink and paste and rubber cement. Those smelly markers too. The ones that smell like grapes. You've been huffing them, haven't you? Haven't I warned you about that?" Tony joked because it was a bit too close to the truth. Yes, not as nuanced, but still, a story that the papers would eat up. Tried to eat up.

"Well, I suppose we'll have to always top at 49% then. We can't really keep complaining about all these guys trying to cause apocalypses if we cause one of our own after all."

[pepperinapot]

"Yes, Tony. I am doing all the Midwestern sad suburban kid drugs." She rolled her eyes. "And I'd only sniff citrus ones anyway. Grape reminds me of Robitussin."

"Oh, we can still complain." She grinned. "When they do it, it's on purpose which is much worse. Plus, they're not very good at it thus far. No excuse for incompetence."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"Why Ms. Potts, have you been hiding harder drugs in your office?" Tony teased with raised eyebrows. "Not that I can blame you, but I think your boss might want to know about anything stronger than citrus markers."

He snorted as he waved his free hand dismissively. "Bring on the incompetence. Not that I mind the challenge, but I seem to recall someone complaining about near heart attacks."

[pepperinapot]

"The strongest drug I keep in my office is Xanex to get through the uglier board meetings." She grinned. "And I don't think downers are your thing."

"Oh, I'm all for them being terrible at what they do. If you come home without bruises and cuts, it gives me a thrill."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"Nah, I'll leave the downers for Bruce," Tony said with a shrug and a smirk. "Can't steal his whole calming schtick."

He squeezed Pepper's hand before bringing it up so he could brush his lips against her knuckles, a mischievous smirk quirking his mouth. "Well, good news for you. As long as I don't turn into a complete klutz and fall into a theater seat, I should make it home cut and bruise free."

[pepperinapot]

"Are you going to give him some lab space?" They had discussed it, but she wasn't sure if Tony had spoken to him yet. "He'll need different equipment."

She smiled, happiness spreading through her. Happy to be here in this moment.

"Well," she purred, "then I can guarantee that there will be some very close touching to verify that when we get home."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"Of course I did," Tony said with a snort. "Be pointless to have him move in and not give him lab space immediately. I already told him about the 10 floors of R&D. He can think I'm blowing hot air about everything else, but no doubts are allowed about that." He smirked. "Told him he can have anything else he wants too. I might need to poke him about that. Make sure he takes full advantage rather than being all monkly."

He tilted his head to the side as he narrowed his eyes playfully. "Are you sure we were planning on seeing a movie tonight? I don't remember anything about a movie. I think we were actually planning on going straight back home. Something about bed repairs. I think there's something wrong with the bed that needs checking out."

[pepperinapot]

"From what you've said about the surveillance footage, he doesn't sound like much of a monk." She hadn't really met Bruce in person yet, though his resume was impressive until it cut off abruptly. "Unless that was an aberrant moment for him."

She had wanted to see the movie, but they had a huge screen at home and she had that all-over warm feeling that promised a good night.

"You know you're right." She fake-checked her schedule on her phone. "I have that schedule in here. That will probably take the rest of the night. Takes a lot of sweating and bending over to get that right again."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"Aw, you mean you haven't watched the video yet? No ogling Bruce's ass? Although I suppose there's plenty of other footage of that around. Almost gives me a run for my money. I really do need to get working on those pants for him," Tony mused aloud before he shrugged. "I meant more in the possessions way. And that quiet 'oh hi, I'm going to blend into the wall now' thing."

He couldn't help his eyebrows raising in pleasant surprise. "Oh, well, if you have it penciled in, it must be very, very important. And all that bending over. Maybe we should just get them to bring our dinner to go. I mean, if it's going to take all night, should start earlier rather than later. A fifty dollar tip should do for them to hurry up. Or a hundred. I think I could do a hundred."

[pepperinapot]

"If he wants me to see his ass, I'm sure he'll show it to me eventually." She shrugged. "You know I don't enjoy watching people like that. It's strange when you don't have their permission. I'd also like to meet the man properly before I saw him naked."

"Let's eat here." She slipped out of her left shoe and dragged her bare foot up his calf. "Hot food and the bedroom don't mix as well as you seem to think."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"We always did have a different opinion on 'permission'," Tony teased. "Although good to know you learned something from our first meeting."

Shifting his leg to help the progress of her foot, he rested both his elbows on the table and wrapped his hands around her hand. He rubbed his thumbs against the palm of her hand, working out the tension as best as he could. "I know plenty of hot food that works spectacularly in the bed room. Although most are dessert oriented. There are plenty though. Maybe we should try. Give you some good experiences. Even though I'm sure the kids will be disappointed if we crash their party early."

[pepperinapot]

"My poor virgin eyes." She laughed. "No one at college had prepared me to be interviewed by someone wearing nothing, but a sheet."

"There are certain things I don't have to try to know I won't be a fan of." She practically purred, enjoying the hard press of his fingers and the warm promise of his thigh under her toes. "And we can bypass the common floors. They won't even know we came back."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"Be thankful for the sheet," Tony teased. "It's too bad you weren't around for the lecture. You would have enjoyed the proper etiquette of a newly appointed CEO lecture. It involved lots of swearing and questioning of my sanity. I still stand by the fact that you passed the test with flying colors, even if it ruined my plans on keeping the interviewing process going on indefinitely."

He let out a content sigh as he sunk deeper into the booth. Even if he had been used to this sort of thing before, he still got a special little thrill out of this. Probably because this was Pepper and she actually wanted to be with him. Not Tony Stark, billionaire, genius inventor, CEO of Stark Industries. Oh, and now that whole Iron Man thing too. Not that he had gotten with any of those groupies despite all his talk. "Oh, sneaking into our own house. You just keep coming up with better and better ideas. I might even forget getting our dinner to go. The smell of warm food may attract unwanted attention."

[pepperinapot]

"I've given you that lecture." She pointed out. "And you didn't hear it any better than."

The waitress came by and set down their food. Pepper found her fork quickly.

"Guess it's too late anyway." She sank in her fork and took a bite. A low, happy moan escaped her lips. "God, I'm so hungry and this is amazing."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"I learned how to tune it out by then," Tony said with a chuckle. "Very, very well. Although I did always prefer the lecture from you rather than Obie. Or the board."

He shuddered dramatically before focusing on his food, so he wouldn't think over his words too much. After all, talking about the old days of the company was hard to do without Obediah coming up. But it was also very easy to push that bit down before his brain to latch on and start picking at that scab.

"Mmm," he murmured around a mouthful of food before pointing his spoon at Pepper. "You keep making those noises, I'm going to stand by my warm food in the bedroom being a good thing."

[pepperinapot]

"That's because my lectures tended to end with me giving you water and advil for your headache, then rescheduling your meetings. The board was just amazingly angry." She really had never been very good at reading him the riot act. It was hilarious how many people thought she had some kind of control over him, considering how well he could play her.

The mention of Obediah, she let pass because pointing it out would only ruin the good mood they had flowing.

"I'm too hungry to wait until we get home." She ate a little quicker though. "I need fuel before I can light a fire, dear."

[playboy_philanthropist]

"For which I was forever grateful for. Especially when the board was intent on double teaming me with the lectures." He took another spoon full of his pie. "What's that saying about honey and vinegar? The board earned itself zero percent of my attention. We'll go with hrm... 13% attention for you then. That's with battling the throbbing headaches."

He chuckled as he sucked on his spoon. "You always have plenty of fuel to light a fire over here."