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

[onehotpepper]

[it's a minute or two into the rainstorm, and Pepper is standing in the rain with her face to the clouds. she left her suit jacket somewhere safe, somewhere she can go to if the lightning gets too bad. until it does, though, she's happy here, where the rain cools the air and the wind feels almost cold against her damp skin and clothes. it's a comfort that the water isn't sizzling off her when it touches her skin, like she thinks it might if she were upset or losing control.]

[this is probably the happiest she's felt since Christmas, and definitely the happiest since this mess of waking up in strange places started.]

Comments

[cleanedslate]

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

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

[onehotpepper]

[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.]

[cleanedslate]

[ 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.

[onehotpepper]

[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.

[cleanedslate]

[ 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.

[onehotpepper]

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]

[cleanedslate]

[ 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. ]

[onehotpepper]

[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?

[cleanedslate]

[ 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.

[onehotpepper]

[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.]

[cleanedslate]

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.

[onehotpepper]

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.]

[cleanedslate]

[ 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. ]

[onehotpepper]

[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.

[cleanedslate]

[ 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.

[onehotpepper]

[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?

[cleanedslate]

[ 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.

[onehotpepper]

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

[cleanedslate]

[ 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. ]