(no subject)

[rockstark]

Who: Pepper & Tony
What: Regrouping. And tacos. And fluff that at least one of them wasn't expecting.
When: After Tony returns from Puente Antiguo.
Where: Tony's house in Malibu.
Rating: PG-13? /shrug.



It wasn't every night that you learned gods existed, Tony thought - not for the first time in the last few hours, either - as he touched down in the workshop. It was almost like getting out of bed, in reverse. Stepping onto the assembly was like toeing on his slippers, slipping on a bathrobe, and plodding his way to the bathroom before he'd even realized his eyes were open. Only, Jarvis and Dummy were stripping the Mark 5 from him, folding it back down into its neat, compact form.

"Hey," he chided, waving one arm, large, grease-spotted paper bag still in hand. "Watch the tacos."

Comments

[ms_potts]

Pepper knew Tony had returned even without Jarvis' announcement of his approach. She'd been curled up on the couch in the living room, watching out the window - waiting to see the telltale streaks of light across the darkening sky.

She smiled as she rushed down the stairs, heels clicking against the stone. Though she might have been telling herself he'd be fine, that he'd come home just like he'd promised - with takeout in hand - there was no better relief than seeing it for herself. She slowed her descent, taking a calming breath as she approached the glass doors to his workshop.

Gently tapping in her code, she smiled as she stepped through the door, "Need a hand with that?"

[rockstark]

"Yeah, hi." Tony let out a huff of a sigh, grinning as he held out the bag. "I, uh - hey. Dummy. Watch that." Turning his head, he made a face at the robot, who was having some difficulty removing the plating from his left leg. "I need that knee. It's my lucky knee. Easy."

Clearing his throat, he glanced over at Pepper, and the smile slid easily back onto his face. He was surprised at how effortless it was - usually smiling after annoyances like that was a conscious decision. A handful of days since their kiss on the rooftop, and he was still amazed at the thought that he might actually be in --

"I got chicken and beef. Since you never specified. So don't go telling me I got too much food, because really, in the end? Your fault."

[ms_potts]

She reached up and took the bag from him, rolling her eyes, "What? And you couldn't have called back to ask? I hardly see how that's my fault."

It seemed so natural. The easy banter they'd had for years with just another layer of... what? She wasn't even sure what to call it. Emotions? Comfort? She wasn't about to overanalize it. It just was

She frowned at Dummy as it nearly bumped into her with the leg plating it had finally managed to detach. "You really need a better system for taking the suit off, don't you think?"

[rockstark]

"Working on it," he admitted, stepping out of the last of it and straightening the sweatshirt he hadn't even bothered to take off. There would probably be an awkward, odd, hoodie-wrinkle imprint between his shoulders later. Oh well. No worse than waking up with keyboard waffle-face. "And no, I couldn't call you, I was a little busy watching a guy come back from the dead, thanks. Do I get a kiss? Are we at the 'honey I'm home' kiss part yet, do we get that phase? Or is that still in the wings..."

[ms_potts]

Come back from the... right. A mental note was made to come back to that. However, there are more important things first.

She shook her head with an amused smile, leaning in and resting a hand over the arc reactor, "Why don't you stop talking for a second and maybe you'll find out." Closing the distance between them, she gently pressed her lips against his. Her mind flashed to their first kiss. How he'd somehow brought her from the edge of a stress-induced meltdown by his silent confession. It might not fix everything, but it sure as hell helps.

[rockstark]

"But I -- mmn."

He had just long enough to flick his eyes down at her fingers on his chest before their lips met, then his eyes slid closed. There was a lot less adrenaline fueling this kiss. It was different, and for a moment, he wasn't sure what to do with the difference. But then years of experience kicked in, and he kissed her back, one hand going to her shoulder as the other settled at her waist.

The fact that the tacos were getting cold wasn't exactly the first thing on his mind.

[ms_potts]

Pepper smiled against Tony's lips as she felt Dummy take the bag from her hand. She didn't entirely trust the robot to set it carefully on a nearby flat surface but she wasn't sure she cared right at that moment.

Her now unladen arm slid around his waist, holding him close. She wasn't sure what had happened to him in New Mexico. She'd most certainly ask him later but there was one thing on her mind when she pulled back, resting her forehead against his, "I'm glad you're okay."

[rockstark]

"Not a scratch, actually," he conceded, raising his eyebrows. Which felt a little weird, being forehead-to-forehead with someone, really. "I almost feel like I got gypped. Well. No, I can't quite say that. I did have to dodge the Unexpected Flying Sledgehammer."

[ms_potts]

"Flying Sledgehammer?" She leaned back to look at his face, eyebrows quirked in confused interest. "A flying sledgehammer and someone coming back from the dead... what happened out there?

[rockstark]

"I ...." Tony knit his eyebrows together, stretching it out to stall for time. To be honest, he either wasn't completely sure, or didn't believe it. Either way, it was weird. Oh, hey, look, a viable topic change.

"Where'd the tacos go?"

[ms_potts]

Damnit, Tony! Though she can't completely fault him for the subject change if watching that metal thing was any indication.

Pepper looked around, "Dummy took them." But where he put them is another question entirely.

[rockstark]

"Dummyyyyyyyy. Hey. Get back here with those, did I say you could - what do you want with tacos, anyway, you can't even eat." Tony disentangled himself from Pepper long enough to chase down their dinner and retrieve it, earning himself one very hangdog robot in the process. "Give. Me. That. ...thank-you…"

Turning back to Pepper, he nodded in the general direction of the ceiling. "Couch?"

[ms_potts]

Pepper laughed watching Tony argue with his robot. And just like that everything was as it should be. It was so surreal seeing Tony fly off to fight some thing in one moment and have him come back to her and laugh and joke as if he hadn't just been in mortal danger. Of course, she was still getting used to the fact that he was coming back to her. She never expected Tony would settle down in any sense of the word, let alone with her.

She crossed the floor with a smile, "I'll get the wine.

[rockstark]

"Kay." He trudged toward the stairs, the buzz from the coffee he'd downed in the diner with Coulson starting to drain away. At least it had lasted him the flight home - the last thing he needed was to doze off and get a pigeon to the face ... the airborne equivalent of a rumble strip.

At this point, he was running on autopilot until he had some food in him, so once he reached the living room, he flopped down on the couch, putting the bag of tacos on the coffee table and glancing out at the horizon. For a night where he hadn't actually done much fighting, it had been surprisingly draining. Maybe it was that whole "wait, gods and aliens exist, and they're HERE, not just over some video feed" thing he was still trying to wrap his head around.

[ms_potts]

Pepper retrieved the wine and glasses from the kitchen, slipping her heels off and leaving them by the door. This wasn't a night for formalities. They weren't dressing up and playing in front of the cameras. It was just them and she had a feeling that was exactly what he needed.

She padded into the room on bare feet, the glasses hanging between her fingers and the open bottle by her side. She smiled softly as she walked around the hole and towards the couch. "Did you even want to bother with plates or are we 'roughing it'?"

[rockstark]

Tony looked up, his eyes sliding over Pepper from her feet up. Maybe it was the way the moonlight was coming in through the window, maybe it was the bare feet, hell, maybe it was just that she was holding alcohol. It didn't really matter, but a simple fact occurred to him, and he said it as such, plainly, with maybe the faintest touch of wonder.

"God, you're beautiful."

It was always a surprise to him, every time he noticed ... Pepper was so busy doing Important Things, running around, talking, organizing, fire-fighting, nagging, mother-henning ... but the times when she stopped, when she was just ... Pepper ... he was starting to realize how much ability she had to simply take his breath away. Almost idly, he hoped the legatium had the ability to power his lungs, too, if he'd ever need it.

[ms_potts]

She smiled easily, one of those grins that can't be contained. It was remarkable how three simple words coming from him could make her feel like the most important person in the world. She paused, looking him over. This was still an incredibly new experience for both of them. She was so used to seeing him talking to other women that way, with the cheesy pickup lines and smooth charm that everyone just gravitated to. She'd cared about him for a long time, longer than she'd cared to admit even to herself. She'd long since accepted that she'd be his assistant and nothing more and to suddenly have this. To have him look at her like that, turn one of his famous smiles on her... it was more than she'd dreamed for.

She knew she was on unsteady ground, though. Tony didn't Do Sentimental... or so he'd like to keep telling himself. She couldn't help but be concerned that if she gets too emotional too quickly she'd scare him away. She lifted the wine bottle, tilting it at him as she stepped around the coffee table and sat, "I bet you say that to all the girls who bring you alcohol."

[rockstark]

"Actually, they usually get 'am I gonna need a corkscrew for that'..." He smirked, glad that she'd given him an easy out from actually talking about all the thoughts and feelings he hadn't quite defined yet. The smirk softened back into a real smile quickly, though, and he pulled a taco out of the bag, unwrapping it.

"And I say plates are for the weak. Dig in."

[ms_potts]

She laughed, setting one of the glasses on the table so she could pour, "You certainly know how to make a girl feel special." She paused in her pouring, giving him a smirk, "And to answer your question it's already open."

Holding his glass out to him, the relief poured over her. She knew they would have to talk about whatever this was at some point... but now wasn't that moment. For now she was just happy to have him safe and home.

I thought I got this. Bad phone, no eating my tags

[rockstark]

He took the glass and raised it to her without even thinking. "Here's to special, then."

It wasn't a sip so much as half the glass.

"Oh, and uh, Coulson says hi."

[ms_potts]

Pepper blinked at him for a moment. Did he really just toast... her? In a manner of speaking, of course. This was certainly new. New and different... but not something she couldn't get used to. She smiled, a small but genuinely happy smile as she raised her glass slightly, "To special."

Her eyebrows shoot up as she takes a small sip. Lowering the glass she looks at him, "Phil? He was there?"

[rockstark]

In all honesty, Pepper was pretty much the best thing Tony could think of to toast, right now, for several reasons. He took a substantially larger pull off his glass - feeling justified in doing so after all he'd seen - and snagged himself a taco. When she spoke, however, it was all he could do not to choke on the shredded lettuce, coughing.

"Phil? Wait, you guys are on a first name basis?"

When had that happened? He hoped he didn't look as defensive and shocked as he felt (though he probably did). Coulson was practically Pepper as a dude, with less variety in wardrobe. If there were anyone who could come out of the blue, pull the rug out from under him, and walk away with her on his arm, it was probably Coulson. Sure, Tony had a pretty high opinion of himself, but stacked up next to someone who was Pepper's equal in all the ways he wasn't? He couldn't be so certain.

[ms_potts]

Pepper couldn't help but laugh as she picked up a taco for herself. That was certainly not the reaction she'd expected. Tony. The man with all the confidence and bravado the world could offer and more was stunned all because of one name.

She cocked her head at him and smiled, "Oh come now. With this community and everything did you really expect to call him 'Agent Coulson' forever?" Her smile softened to a natural cheerful smile, one she never showed the press or the plethora of government and corporate big wigs she dealt with on a nearly daily basis. "Besides, being on friendly terms with him could only help you in the long run, right? He's been nothing but helpful." And it would be nice to have a friend she can actually discuss everything with but but that's another story.

[rockstark]

"Help me? The two of you are probably going to run me into the ground." He took a moment to down another mouthful of his taco, using the downtime to pull his thoughts together and push down the jealousy as far as he could. "That press release he wrote for me was a lead sinker. You saw how far it flew when I even tried it out. Thud. No ground whatsoever. Nobody even started to buy it. I admit I'm Iron Man, and bam, smooth sailing. World peace, practically."

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and flicked a bit of lettuce onto the paper wrapper. "So define help."

[ms_potts]

She laughed, giving him a look, "Tony. No one believed it because you sounded like you were reading something for an elementary school play. If you'd managed to be more convincing you would have pulled it off." She paused, taking a sip of her wine and looking him over, "And you consider my suddenly having to become an expert in politics and foreign relations to help Rhodey keep your suits where they belong, your being called to speak to the senate and everything else that's happened since that press conference smooth sailing?"

A pause as she handed him a paper napkin, raising an eyebrow, "Oh what am I saying. Of course you do."