randomizing | [action - tropical island day 2, during the afternoon storm]

Feels nice, doesn't it?

[hello Pepper, Scott will just be meandering up to stand next to you, hands propped lightly against his hips. he's still wearing his Fantastic Four uniform considering that the alternative is nothing but boxer shorts, but he can still admit that the rain feels pretty damn good. he's never been much of a rain person before but after nothing but constant sun the first day, it's a nice change.]

[smiling, glancing over at him] Yes. [more wryly] Or as nice as somethig can feel in a place you've been brought to against your will.

[Scott lowers his gaze from the falling rain back Pepper, one brow arched.]

You sound pretty calm about all of this. [a lot of people had, weirdly enough.] I hope this isn't something that happens on a regular basis for you.

It's not. But the last time was a lot less... pleasant.

[to put it very lightly. at least here, she isn't some madman's new favorite guinea pig. and better still, Tony is here. and Bruce. and all these other people who aren't actively trying to kill them. that counts for a lot.]

You don't look very frazzled either.

[her comment earns her half a casual shrug and all of a self-deprecating smile.]

One of the risks of my job, finding myself in weird situations.

[weird situations, weird dimensions, weird everything....most of it had come with his weeks of working alongside the Fantastic Four but playing Avenger hadn't been a walk in the park either.]

I'm Scott, by the way. Scott Lang. If we're gonna be stuck here together, we might as well get to know each other.

[funny, even when she was Tony's PA, her job involved a lot of weird situations, too. this is definitely weirder, though.]

[smiling, because she likes your style] Pepper Potts. [eyeing his outfit] I don't recognize you, sorry.

I don't recognize a damn thing on this island except for my daughter and her friend so I'd say we're in the same boat. [but there's no heat in his voice. it's merely a fact, not anything Scott's particularly frustrated or worried about.] But it's nice to meet you, Pepper. I'm sure having you here will spice things right up.

[that was bad and he knows it was bad.]

[she is so unfazed it should be hialrious. and it kind of is, to her. she laughs a little] You know, it's been a long time since I've heard one of those. [probably because it's not her real name, and she earned it because she threatened to pepper spray someone. it had been a bluff, but still.] It's good to meet you, too, Scott, and I'm glad to hear your daughter is here with you. [she almost said "safe," but that might not be true.]

[glancing at his suit again] What do you do? --I'm sorry, that sounds a lot less friendly than I meant. I'm just-- usually when I see people dressed up that way, they're the type who have certain-- abilities.

Edited 2013-06-27 00:23 (UTC)

So am I, you have no idea.

[he is never letting Cassie out of his sight again. except when she has to pee, and that's only because she'd probably never talk to him again if he tried to follow her that far.

the way Pepper's last sentence comes out in an almost-stutter is entertaining and Scott can't help but laugh. he's long given up on having any sort of secret identity so talking about superhero stuff, even with a virtual stranger, doesn't faze him all too much.]

Sorry, no special abilities here, except for the ability to lose kids every time I'm put in charge of them.

[pause, and a wince.]

That sounds worse than it actually is. I promise I don't try and lose them on purpose. But as far as my day job goes, I'm temporarily in charge of the Future Foundation. It's [vague gesturing and grimacing here] kind of a like a college scholarship fund meets Swiss research center type thing, but basically I means I've been appointed babysitter for some ten odd kids.

[he blows out a sigh at that.]

It's crazy.

Don't sell yourself short. Baby-sitting one kid is enough of an ordeal. The ability to watch over ten of them may as well be a superpower. [smiles. she had a friend once, when she was Tony's PA, who said to her that she was nothing short of a hero for being able to deal with him. maybe, maybe not, but it did show her that one doesn't need to have super strength to be amazing.]

Well, I do have three other people helping me, along with a dragon-android hybrid. And a bunch of HERBIE robots that do clean up.

[so really it's like he does no work at all! except that he still hasn't figured out the secret of keeping the kids from stabbing each other in the hand.]

That sounds...pretty normal, actually. We're a very AI and not-always-human-beings friendly sort of household.[smiling. none of them would make a good babysitter, though, so she's no help]

Really?

[he tilts his head, curiosity piqued, except that's kind of a bad move because his hair's sopping wet and flops into his face. grimacing faintly, he pushes it back out of his eyes and continues on. ]

You have kids?

[she can't hold back a laugh at that. okay, she can see how he could have inferred that, but it's amusing nonetheless]

I don't, no. We have an AI helping run the house, and there are robots in the basement [and the Avengers' suites in Stark Tower, and maybe some of them could count? Tony also? Stark Industries, definitely], but no, it's just me and Tony.

Tony?

[there's obvious surprise in his voice at the comment.

relax, scott. there are probably like five million tonys in the world, she can't possibly be talking about the tony he knows. except that how many of those five million tonys have robots ai housekeepers?]

You wouldn't happen to be talking about Tony Stark by any chance, would you?

Yes. [she says, suspecting this may not be what Scott wants to hear. ...what did you do, Tony.]

Wow.

[not a bad wow, just a 'wow, the world is kind of small' wow. except that this is tony they're talking about and tony's met nearly every beautiful and competent woman on the planet so....scott's not exactly sure why he's surprised by all this.

mostly he just feels bad, because if pepper's important enough to tony to be living with him, scott should know. and then, because he realizes that 'wow' doesn't actually mean anything to pepper, scott laughs sheepishly and explains.]

Tony used to be my boss, a long time ago. He was kind enough to give me a job when [i'd finally been released from prison] things were looking--not so great for me and my family.

[what a relief! too many times lately, people who remember Tony tend to have bad enough memories of him that they try to kill him.] that was very good of him to do. I hope things are better for you now. Not the immediate now. [gesturing generally to the island] Just, you know, in more normal terms.

Edited 2013-07-08 23:58 (UTC)

[He's smiling at that, but it's something of a pained smile, one that doesn't quite reach his eyes.]

Not really, but thanks for the sentiment.

[Scott doesn't look at her as he says it, choosing instead to focus his gaze back out at the ocean, currently being pelted by raindrops. For moment, there's silence, and then he decides to change the subject.]

So if you guys are living together, does that make you his [insert some vague hand gesturing] girlfriend?

[offers him a sympathetic smile. if they were more than recent acquaintances, she'd set a hand on his arm, something like that.]

[correcting gently, brushing her bangs out of her eyes] Fiancée.

[he appreciates the sentiment either way, though he doesn't really have time to dwell on that because he's too busy being surprised at 'fiancee'.]

Wow.

[again. (sometimes Scott is not the most eloquent of men.) Tony's love life had never really been something Scott had felt comfortable poking his nose into and he'd kind of drifted away from Tony after all of the craziness but...to not know about this at all?

honestly, Scott feels really bad. still, he manages to shake it off and give Pepper a genuine smile.]

Congratulations. You guys picked out a wedding date yet?

Thank you. [she can sort of see it there, just a little bit, but she knows nothing of the situation and can offer no comfort]

We were working on that, but... well, right now all we know is it's been indefinitely post-poned.

Oh, I don't know, a tropical island sounds like a pretty nice place to get married. Or maybe have an early honeymoon.

[he was smiling, but now he frowns.]

Although I probably just jinxed it and now we're gonna have some sort of volcano explosion or something.

[wrinkling her nose] That wouldn't really bode well. [not that fire hasn't been a theme in their lives lately, but still] Besides, I'm not sure there's anyone here who can officiate.

[Surprisingly, he smiles at that.]

You never know. Maybe if you ask around enough, you'll find someone with a bunch of crazy life experiences. Though, before you ask, no, I'm not volunteering.

[chuckling]That's a shame. Now I have to go around and interview everyone.

[ shallow surface thoughts: she looks beautiful like that, her head tipped back, the water like a cold shower on her skin.

slightly deeper thoughts: maybe it's okay to talk to her now. he gave her space, right? enough space? he wants to talk to her. he wants it to have been enough space.

deeper thoughts: is she cold at all? is the Extremis keeping her warm?

but he shuts the last down, as much as he can ever shut his thoughts down without alcohol, and steps up behind her. ]

Hey.

[ it's pitched low enough that, well, she can ignore it if she doesn't want to respond, and then he'll know she's not ready to talk to him, and then he can leave her alone.

low conflict. he's decent at that. ]

[his voice brings her back to this abandoned beach that serves as their prison, and to the day before, just for a moment, long enough to remember why it feels like ages since their last actual conversation. she lowers her head as if in prayer, then turns a little as she looks over her shoulder at him] Hey. [tiny smile. can't really help it. she's glad to see him]

[ he'll take it. a grin to match it ]

I guess it literally can't get any worse now, right? [ because, raining ]

[shrugging] It could start hailing. [or any of those other things that he's surely trying not to think about, that she is also not going to think about.]

Edited 2013-06-30 17:47 (UTC)

[ he comes a little closer, and starts shrugging out of his jacket. he'll hold it open over her head, like an umbrella ]

Well, we'll be ready for it if it does.

[that gets the tiniest of laughs out of her, but the smile that comes with it fades quickly. it's difficult to forget why they spent so mich time apart. even before, with the demands of being CEO hounding her and with his tinkering in the basement, the hours without each other never felt this vast. and as much as she'd like to move past this, she is not going to ignore it.]

I wasn't-- [presses her lips together. "trying to kill myself"? "thinking clearly"? neither of those sounds right] It's just frustrating.

[ he swallows; it'd be audible, if not for the rain. he closes his eyes for a beat, then he says ]

I know. I mean, I don't know. But I'm sorry I freaked on you.

Edited 2013-07-03 00:49 (UTC)

Your heart was in the right place. [which is, in fact, one reason why she loves him. turning to face him fully] I'll do my part, stay out away from strenuous activities until the all-clear. [small smile, a little sad]

[ his eyes move over her face, carefully ] ...But after I give it. What about then?

[ he reaches up, tucks a lock of hair behind her ear ]

Iron Maiden? Wonder Woman? Either way, we're gonna have copyright issues.

[ they haven't really talked about this. he doesn't even know if she wants to keep her powers, if she wants to do the hero thing. this is his way of asking. ]

[at first, this catches her off-guard. she hadn't thought about much past fixing the risk of death by spontaneous combustion, had assumed that would also mean she would go back to how she was. but what if she doesn't? humans aren't computers, can't just be restored to factory settings, can they? that isn't how it works.

would that be so bad, though? a building goes down on top of her, or a car rams right into her as she goes out for lunch, and she walks away mostly unscathed.]

Could that really happen? Once the blowing up part is taken care of, could I still-- heal? Do the whole fire thing?

Edited 2013-07-04 15:54 (UTC)

[ is that hope? awe? fear? it's a little hard to tell. he smiles for her, though. ]

If you want it? Definitely. I mean, I wouldn't really be fixing the formula if all I did was undo it, right? Where's the challenge in that?

If you don't want it? Well, I'll try to work past my disappointment.

[she doesn't know herself, really, so she thinks about it for a moment, weighs it like a strategic plan in the board room. she knows what life was like before, without Extremis. death and injury are part of the package when one's significant other was a bona fide superhero. pre-Extremis, saving his life had involved nearly getting killed herself. post-Extremis, not only had she saved him, she had all but come back from the dead to do it.]

Well-- [frowning a little] My health insurance premiums would probably drop. [more seriously] You're thinking names. As in-- going off to fight bad guys names. [a little nervous, maybe. because violence.]

I'm thinking... you've been in just as much danger as me for years, and I was kidding myself to pretend anything different. [ the Mandarin brought it home, but how many times has she been right there with him on the firing line, even when he was doing slightly less than everything he could to keep her out of it? ]

I'm thinking... if you want in on the fun part, I would probably be lucky to have you.

Fun. [nods absently, unsure if that's the word she would use to describe it.] Practical, definitely.

[and she could be there with him, no matter what. she could be there to literally jump to his rescue if he needs it. to watch his back, because Rhodey is often too busy with the duty he signed up for to make sure his best friend doesn't get himself killed.]

Okay. I mean-- I don't know, I'm not-- I'd need practice, training. And you would still have to be careful and keep me in the loop. [no more slow death by arc reactor, no more pulling away from her because of nightmares, even though she understands the impulse now.]

Edited 2013-07-04 16:42 (UTC)

[ he actually wants to work on making it slightly less fun, Extremis being addictive and all. but: ]

Deep in the loop. You'll know things before I do. [ this much, he promises readily. ]

[arches her eyebrows. she is most definitely holding you to that.] Don't even let JARVIS lie for you.

[the weight of what they've agreed to settles on her shoulders with the rain, lots of tiny complications that can be absorbed as easily as the water in her shirt. no big deal, right? they've got each other. she glances at the ARC reactor, glowing through his shirt, and nods.]

[meeting his gaze] We'll have to think of a better name.

[ his lips turn up ] I think he'll prefer it that way. [ such a nag, trying to get Tony to tell you about all the times he was dying and stuff ]

[ he follows her eyes to his chest, then smiles when she looks up at him again ]

Hey, it's just branding. We can assign people to it when we get back.

[despite the budgeting issue that might cause, the idea of it (god, it brings back memories of Marketing 101, "brand you" and "you are the product") makes her laugh. it feels wonderful, to be laughing with him, to have put to rest what kept them apart.]

[when she looks at him again, she is biting her lips] How much damage will a kiss in the rain do to your brand image?

[ he likes it, too. feels like something loosening in his chest, just a little.

and this part is nice, too. ]

My image could only be improved.

Well, in that case. [leans forward, presses her lips to his, feeling warm--the good kind of warm]

[ he meets it, soft. soft is good, and the rain feels nice. he lets the jacket he was holding over her head slip just a little, so that his hands are on her shoulders, and then he's just holding her in the rain. ]

[action - tropical island day 2, during the afternoon storm]

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THANK YOU lmao it had to happen eventually

I AIM TO PLEASE also so sorry this is late, work got crazy

i feel you, trust me

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