xpep-in-your-step

[xpep-in-your-step]

pbandparker​:

“Well you and May need to take turns. We can’t have both of you worried out of your minds,” Peter returned. “Figure out a shift system.” He shook his head, grin wide on his face. “I can’t have you spoil me rotten; I need to stay good, remember?” Now he was just being a little bit of a smart ass, but he knew Pepper could take it. In some instances, she could be worse - she had a bite and she wasn’t afraid to use it. At least, that was his field assessment.

“You got it. I know a lil’ bodega a few blocks from me that has some pretty good ones.” The convenience store had a lot of goodies, some of which Peter was planning on nabbing on his way past later on. “If it gets that bad I’ll let you know. I think if I got night terrors, Johnny wouldn’t let me sleep in the same bed. I’d have to get a doctor by then, huh?” While it was a joke, there was some truth to it. They still didn’t know what had gone wrong that day at the protest, or at least, he didn’t know.

Peter’s brows lifted when she told him that little secret, but he pretended to lock his mouth shut and throw away the key. “Don’t worry, I won’t say a word. Good to hear you’re feeling better, though. When do you think they’ll let you walk? Legally, I mean,” he added, his smirk as evidence that he was teasing.

Pepper couldn’t help but laugh as the smart ass remark, shooting Peter a ‘oh really now?’ look. The smirk on her lips took the sting out of the disbelief though, the redhead only teasing him. “It’s fine, I’ll just spoil you so rotten that you turn good again. That’s how it works, right?” She was grinning now, her hands falling away once his hair was settled. 

The grin faded as the topic shifted, Pepper listening intently, aware that Peter would probably try to hedge and deflect with humour, for some reason that was the general MO of most of the men she knew so she’d gotten good at reading between the lines. “God forbid you couldn’t sleep in the same bed as your lover boy.” It was a gentle tease, but the hand that rested on Peter’s shoulder and squeezed gently was sincere. “Just don’t be scared to let me know if it comes up. We’ve all been there, especially in this ‘business’.” And she didn’t mean their day jobs. Pepper’s sleep issues came more from anxiety than night terrors, and weren’t as bad as they’d been when she and Tony had been seeing one another, but she still had nights where she couldn’t sleep soundly.

Happy to shift back to more lighthearted topics Pepper laughed softly at her godson’s antics and then sighed a bit, wanting to shrug but knowing better given her still-healing injuries. “They said two weeks, but I’m hoping it ends up being closer to one. I am beyond ready to get out of this room for good.”

#✚ { interaction } ☙ #𝓒𝓱𝓮𝓬𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓘𝓷 #✚ { Peter } ☙ 𝓯𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓰𝓸𝓭𝓼𝓸𝓷 #pbandparker

[xpep-in-your-step]

PP: [ I would very much appreciate it :) You’re a genius, I have absolute faith in you to figure out Swedish furniture. ]

PP: [ Oh, well. Just a bookcase, and a little rolling cart for the kitchen, and a standing shoe closet...thing for the entryway. And possibly a nightstand. ]

xpep-in-your-step​:

Message to: Petey

@pbandparker

PP: [ So, I’m sure I’ve asked you this before, but: Are you any good at putting together IKEA furniture? ]

PP: [ I made the mistake of going for meatballs, but they make you start at the top and walk through the entire store. And, well. I ended up buying…a lot 😬 ]

PP: [ totally don’t think you did, BUT i can try? ]

PP: [ how much is… a lot? ]

#✚ { text } ☙ #peter #✚ { Peter } ☙ 𝓯𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓰𝓸𝓭𝓼𝓸𝓷 #pbandparker

[xpep-in-your-step]

Message to: Petey

@pbandparker

PP: [ So, I’m sure I’ve asked you this before, but: Are you any good at putting together IKEA furniture? ]

PP: [ I made the mistake of going for meatballs, but they make you start at the top and walk through the entire store. And, well. I ended up buying...a lot 😬 ]

#✚ { text } ☙ #𝓟𝓮𝓽𝓮𝔂 #✚ { Peter } ☙ 𝓯𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓰𝓸𝓭𝓼𝓸𝓷 #pbandparker

[xpep-in-your-step]

Pepper hadn’t been surprised when Tony’s invitation to join him in Star City had been an offhand mention in one of their rare phone conversations followed up by a set of keys arriving in the mail. As she already had keys to everything else Tony owned she assumed they were to whatever properties he had procured in the city. The nonchalant nature of the invite was one-hundred percent Tony. What had surprised her was that Tony had asked her to come out in the first place. Things had been...well, frankly they hadn’t been great between them for a while at that point.

So, suffice to say, the casual invite and subsequent keys hadn’t been expected, and Pepper had taken a couple days to think it over before making her decision. Of course, her initial instinct had been to go, but not only did she have a company to make arrangements for, but she didn’t like to make spur of the moment decisions when it came to the important things. In the end it took her a couple weeks to make the proper arrangements so that she could run Stark Industries from Star City in addition to Los Angeles and New York. Tony had said 'visit' when they'd spoken, but she knew Tony and she doubted it would be a simple week-long vacation.

Even with all the time Pepper had spent making preparations and getting things set up, she'd still had to end up leaving her assistant in LA to wrap up the last few loose ends before the younger woman joined her in Star City. Honestly, Darcy was an invaluable assistant. She was a bit quirky and high energy, but she got things done and as long as everything was done legally Pepper wasn't really too bothered with how it got done.

So, when she'd heard that Darcy was finally on her way Pepper was pleased. Cassia was irreplaceable, of course, the AI was almost always in Pepper's ear (especially after the incident at the riots), but it would be nice to have another human being to talk to during the day that wasn't yet another stuffy, insufferable business man.

Pepper was scrawling out some proforma signatures when Darcy arrived, and at the sound of the brunette's voice Pepper's head lifted with a warm smile. "Darcy! Glad to see you made it in one piece." There was an amused smile on her lips as she gestured towards one of the chairs in front of her desk. "Well, only having come back to work last week I'm unfortunately low on the gossip." It was hard to collect gossip from a recovery bed.

When: Present Day Where: Star City - Stark Industries With: Pepper @xpep-in-your-step​

There were some perks to being the bosses aid, one of which was getting the cushy transportation from LA over to Star City. She’d only ever been in a helicopter once before and was pretty sure the pilot was ready to tip the whole thing sideways by the time they’d arrived at her new HQ. Having finished up the few last ends in she was going to be here for the foreseeable. 

She hopped out of the helicopter, holding her beanine over her head as best to she could to stop her hair flying absolutely everywhere, waved goodbye to the no-doubt relieved pilot and scampered inside the building. She’d stuffed the beanie into her small back, fluffed her hair out and put her glasses on by the time she was down the elevator and heading for Pepper’s office. As bosses go she’d doubted there’d be any better than Jane but Darcy had sure struck it lucky when Pepper came along! She finally felt like she was doing something important again. 

“Heyyyyy boss.” she chirped, she half-sang, popping her head into the room and stepping inside, “LA is official braved to cope without us and I need gossip about this joint, there’s heroes everywhere and I wanna know which ones I got a chance of meeting and getting selfies with, oh and y’know, business stuff too.” she added with a grin. 

#✚ { interaction } ☙ #𝓢𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓘𝓷 #✚ { Darcy } ☙ 𝓟𝓮𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓻'𝓼 𝓟𝓮𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓻 #littlemisslewis

[xpep-in-your-step]

flamexonxbaby‌:

“Anything Sue has on me, I can match it. Guaranteed. She knows.” Not that he was confident it would be enough to stop her, but his sister was well aware that he was able and willing to whip out some embarrassing family stories at the drop of a hat. He’d been on a superhero team with her and her ex-husband for most of his life. He had a lot of ammo.

“What I want to know is…are there any embarrassing Pepper stories? Somehow I’ve got a hard time imagining you doing anything that you regret at 3am two years later. Who would have them…” he tapped his finger against his chin. “Tony? He’d probably hoard them, though.”

Pepper smiled tilting her head in acknowledgement of the counter-play. She didn’t have siblings, but she imagined that being able to match each other’s embarrassing stories would be useful. Mutually assured destruction and all that.

A laugh was drawn out of the redhead at his question, her smile growing to a grin. “Oh, you would be surprised. I wasn’t always this put together, I promise you.” She’d never been quite at Tony’s level of tabloid scandal, but she’d had a phase in college. She’d even gotten hauled to the campus police station. But only just the once, and she’d been able to mostly make it go away. “Happy, actually. But good luck getting him to talk. If you do than you’ve more than earned them.” She and Happy had been best friends for what felt like forever now, the man definitely her closest confidant and while he came off as a bit ridiculous she trusted him with her secrets. 

Workin’ Five to Nine

#✚ { interaction } ☙ #𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓴𝓲𝓷’ 𝓕𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓝𝓲𝓷𝓮 #✚ { Johnny } ☙ 𝓬𝓾𝓽𝓲𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓸𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓮 #flamexonxbaby

[xpep-in-your-step]

Pepper appreciated that Peter didn’t want to aggravate her injuries, but she was worried and wanted a damn hug and so was probably clutching at him a bit more than she should have, but she was his god-mother, she was allowed. “Maybe not, but I still will. Perks of the fairy god-mother thing, along with spoiling you rotten. Not that you let me do that nearly enough.” She was fretting a bit now, reaching up to futz with his hair until it was a little less messy. 

“That would be lovely, sudokus are just frustrating more than anything.” There was a sense of accomplishment when she managed to finish one, but that was a rare thing. Listening to Peter go on about how he’d been she nodded along, eyes full of sympathy and compassion. “Well, you know I know some very good doctors if it ever gets too bad. A couple specialists if there’s any night terrors or anything.” Some people wouldn’t be so blunt, but when it came to Peter taking care of himself she tended to be insistent. 

Asked about how she was doing she smiled a little. “Oh, you know. Same ol’, everything hurts, but not as much as it did last week. Walking is apparently off the table for a bit yet.” She glanced around as if checking for anyone listening. “Don’t tell Tony, but I’ve been sneaking to the bathroom and back on my own.” She winked at him, clearly teasing, about letting Tony know at least, she was fairly certain he had already figured it out. 

Checking In

xpep-in-your-step‌:

As Peter sunk into her arms Pepper smiled against his hair, hugging him tight against her chest. Or as tightly as she could manage in her current condition. “I am so glad you’re okay, Petey. I was worried.” She knew she should probably give him a moment to settle down before she jumped right into mothering him, but she really couldn’t help it. 

Letting him go she glanced down at her Sudoku puzzle and laughed a bit. “Not really, I was always better at crosswords.” Drawing him down next to her she looked him over, making sure he was all in one piece, and then she was smiling, unable to keep the relief out of her eyes. “How have you been, since…everything?” She didn’t usually beat around the bush, but she knew what he went through was probably a sensitive subject and she didn’t want to push him to talk about it if he was still at a point where he couldn’t comfortably. 

Peter made sure to keep his grip on her as light as possible - she was hurting enough, she didn’t need him to aggravate anything further. Her hold on him, though, was a bit tighter than he expected or thought was okay. It was nice. “It takes a lot to knock me down,” he returned and punctuated with a soft laugh. “You don’t have to worry about me too much.” It was a wonder how he was still alive with what he’s gone through - and he wasn’t even twenty-five yet.

“I’ll have to grab you some, then.” Peter appreciated that Pepper was there for him. It meant May didn’t have to worry alone. At her question, he took a moment to think about it before he offered her a shrug. “Pretty alright, I guess. Sleep’s kind of hard, but it tends to be.” A sheepish grin spread across his face, but dipped in a flash when he looked down at the puzzle. “I don’t know… I’m dealing.” Peter then looked back at Pepper, small smile on his face; “How are you doing?”

#interaction #checking in #Peter #pbandparker

[xpep-in-your-step]

#self #Tony #to the resqueue #( lbr; she wasn't even surprised haha )

[xpep-in-your-step]

doctorrbbanner‌:

“If you stab Tony, make sure you get that on video for me. Maybe I’ll live vicariously through you. But,” he clicked his tongue and spread his palms, “then you run the risk of him ending up in a bed right beside you. That might be a risk worth weighing.”

He wasn’t so sure everyone would share Pepper’s enthusiasm for him being on the case, but most of what he was working on was innocuous enough and, if it all went according to plan, genuinely helpful. It wasn’t like there was anything dangerous about water filtration, right? Granted, he had his hands in a few other pots, but…that was just the way of it. He knew what he knew. His resumé was what it was.

Bruce ran a hand along his jaw and sat back again, glancing out the window. “I know. But I think we all check out once in awhile. Tony will come around. He’s here, isn’t he?” It had been a rough few years for all of them, each in their own way, but they’d all pulled through. “You know he’s there when it counts.”

Pepper smiled and sighed a bit at Bruce’s rationale. It made sense, of course, Bruce had a sensible head on his shoulders and was as smart as Tony. Even smarter in some ways. “Hmm, I suppose you are right about that. Lord knows I wouldn’t get any rest then.” It was good-natured teasing, Pepper had dealt with Tony for years, sharing a hospital room with the man wouldn’t have been the end of the world. 

While Bruce looked out the window Pepper was looking at Bruce, wondering, in the back of her mind, what he’d been up to. There’d been a time they’d lost track of him, not even Tony able to find him with all his resources. Pepper hadn’t asked where Bruce had gone, it wasn’t her place to pry. 

“Yes, he is here.” That was a start, and he was more present than he’d been in the last few years. “Of course you’re right, I just worry about him. Old habit from too many years as his assistant.”

#✚ { interaction } ☙ #𝓢𝓾𝓻𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓮 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓲𝓽 #✚ { Dr. Banner } ☙ 𝓫𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓫𝓻𝓪𝔀𝓷 #doctorrbbanner‌

[xpep-in-your-step]

The O.C. | 2.12 – “Lonely Hearts Club”

#self #tony #to the resqueue

[xpep-in-your-step]

ironman2point0‌:

It was fortunate that Tony tended to keep remarkably calm in the middle of a crisis situation. He always lost his cool later, once the immediate danger was over and he’d done what he had to do to push through. It was an auto-response, even though he would tell anyone else that panic wasn’t efficient and there was a calculated, deliberate intent behind it all. That wasn’t true at all. He barely heard what Pepper said; he was too focused on the task at hand. He could see that she was bleeding and it gave him a sick feeling that would later turn to rage. 

“I know. Cap’s got him. He’s fine.” He didn’t see how it started. Later he would have to get a better look with one of the crowd cameras. He did, however, see the aftermath, and he knew Peter was in good hands. “I’ll take care of it. Just relax, Pep. Another fifteen seconds and we’re there.” It might have seemed as if he were talking that way for her sake, but it was just as much for his own. 

The hospital came into view and he wasted no time landing at the entrance to the emergency room. The workers watched him in wide-eyed confusion, but as soon as it was obvious that Pepper was injured and Tony yelled at them to hurry the fuck up, they ran forward to take her inside. It was only seconds later that Tony was able to follow, leaving his equipment with a driver he sent the GPS coordinates to minutes ago. 

Then he was inside, bypassing the desk and following as far as he could before he was stopped by the doctors. He was relegated to the waiting room, where he paced back and forth instead of sat, and impatiently turned away repeated offers of water.

Reassured that Peter was okay a knot untangled inside of Pepper and she nodded a little against the armour’s chest. That was good at least. “Good, good. That’s good.” Was she repeating herself? She was fairly certain she was, but she couldn’t quite focus enough to get her thoughts straight, her eyes fluttering closed as a wave of exhaustion overtook her, the start of the adrenaline crash she had coming. 

Feeling them touch down Pepper’s eyes blinked open, but everything was sightly out of focus. “Tony?” He was yelling, why was he yelling? Then again, it was Tony it was hard, even for her, to figure out why he did the things he did sometimes. Pepper barely registered being set on a gurney, but there was a frown on her lips as her fingertips slipped out of the armour’s metal hand when she was rolled away. 

After that everything was less than coherent. At some point she must have passed out, because when she woke up she was in a hospital room wearing a hospital gown and hooked up to an IV amongst other things. Groggily she looked around, her brows furrowed in her confusion. How long had she been out? Where was Tony? 

“...Tony?” It was a bit slurred, her tongue and lips not quite moving the way she wanted them too, apparently having been put under some kind of anesthesia at some point. Had she needed surgery? She didn’t have the answers to any of her questions. The helpless feeling got to her more than it normally would and she hated that she sniffled a little, eyes welling up, tho she did her best to keep the tears from actually falling. It didn’t help that she hated hospitals, and while nothing really hurt, she didn’t feel right either.  

Holding Out for a Hero

#✚ { interaction } ☙ #𝓗𝓸𝓵𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓞𝓾𝓽 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓪 𝓗𝓮𝓻𝓸 #✚ { Tony } ☙ #(custom tag tbd) #ironman2point0

[xpep-in-your-step]

pbandparker‌:

The worry that Peter had for Pepper eased itself when he saw her sitting up, already looking better than before. He removed his hands from his pockets, smile a little sheepish as he walked the short distance between the door to the bed.

Of course he’d panicked when he first heard that she’d gotten in the middle of the riot; he couldn’t help but to feel that it was his fault, somehow. That maybe if he hadn’t been there he wouldn’t have gotten triggered. Maybe if he had stayed at the condo, this wouldn’t have happened.

Peter melted into her embrace and sighed, the sound quiet. He pulled away, then, and offered her a smile - the expression was tired, as it tended to be the past few months, but he was grateful that Pepper made it out okay. “Hey, you’re looking better. Getting anywhere far with that?” He asked as he nodded to the Sudoku puzzle in her lap.

As Peter sunk into her arms Pepper smiled against his hair, hugging him tight against her chest. Or as tightly as she could manage in her current condition. “I am so glad you’re okay, Petey. I was worried.” She knew she should probably give him a moment to settle down before she jumped right into mothering him, but she really couldn’t help it. 

Letting him go she glanced down at her Sudoku puzzle and laughed a bit. “Not really, I was always better at crosswords.” Drawing him down next to her she looked him over, making sure he was all in one piece, and then she was smiling, unable to keep the relief out of her eyes. “How have you been, since...everything?” She didn’t usually beat around the bush, but she knew what he went through was probably a sensitive subject and she didn’t want to push him to talk about it if he was still at a point where he couldn’t comfortably. 

Checking In

[xpep-in-your-step]

flamexonxbaby‌:

“I mean I guess Peter showed off his best assets all at once. Kind of wish he hadn’t.” He was pretty sure he’d left a bruise on Sue’s arm from how rapidly he’d been slapping it to make sure that she was looking at the screen, even though they’d been trapped in that half carnival, half Hunger Games Hell together and she hadn’t had much choice.

It had been awhile by then since Johnny saw May the last time. He’d made sure Peter could get back to New York after he’d revealed his identity so that she could see him in person and smack him upside the head, but it hadn’t been worth the risk to try to go with him. Besides, he’d figured they needed the time alone. “I think he might have an embarrassing story or two about me, so I don’t know if that’ll end up being a fair exchange,” he grinned, “but…if you really think you could get May here, I’ll take one for the team.”

Pepper couldn’t help but chuckle a little, but she smothered the reaction quickly aware that it hadn’t really been a laughing matter even if bits of it were amusing. She hadn’t watched the whole thing, having heard about it a little after it started, but she’d seen enough and it hadn’t been a good experience for anyone involved it seemed like. 

As they spoke of dinner plans Pepper smiled brightly. “Oh, don’t worry, I can do a little magic and have things arranged.” She sipped at her drink, corners of her eyes crinkling. “If I really wanted to embarrass you I’d invite Sue, but perhaps we’ll save that for another dinner date.” Her laughter was soft and amused, it was nice talking to Johnny. An easy moment in a day filled with meetings, phone calls, and everything else that was required to keep SI running. 

Workin’ Five to Nine

#✚ { interaction } ☙ #Workin’ Five to Nine #✚ { Johnny } ☙ 𝓬𝓾𝓽𝓲𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓸𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓮 #flamexonxbaby

[xpep-in-your-step]

Checking In

@pbandparker​

It had taken a bit, but eventually Tony had gotten Pepper moved out of the hospital and to somewhere more comfortable, and now she was just losing her mind due to boredom more than anything else. Tony wouldn’t let her work, which she supposed was fair given that she wouldn’t let him work if their positions were switched, but she also didn’t have a ton else to do.

So, she’d decided to bother Tony until he brought Peter to see her. She had wanted to go see her godson, but while walking was a thing she could do now, she couldn’t get much farther than the kitchen and back before she was wiped out. Having Peter come to visit her was just as good, the redhead not having been able to talk to him since the riots. 

When he walked into her room she was sitting up in bed, hair piled on her head in a messy configuration that wasn’t quite bun or ponytail, a pencil between her lips as she used a block eraser to erase a couple numbers from the Sudoku board she was trying to fill in. 

The sound of his footsteps had her head lifting, and then the pencil fell as she smiled warmly, arms immediately raising, held open as her fingers beckoned for him to come in for the hug they both undoubtedly needed. 

#✚ { interaction } ☙ #Checking In #Peter #pbandparker

[xpep-in-your-step]

flamexonxbaby‌:

“If it’s a handsome name, you can have it. There’s a reason I stick to Johnny. Sue got off easy and I got Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm? Where’s the justice in that?” There was none. The less he had to hear it the better. It never rolled off the tongue on the best of days, and definitely not being announced by a robot.

He spread his hands in front of him (as best he could still holding the coffee cup) and shrugged. “It probably will? I mean, there probably wasn’t a worse time in the world to do it or a worse way. Kind of hard to top revealing your super secret identity on a live broadcast when you’re in your underwear. Terrible underwear, too. It wasn’t even cute.”

Pepper chuckled, lips curling up in a smile. That was fair enough. Two middle names was quite a mouthful. Then again, her name was Virginia and she didn’t even have a middle name, so she couldn’t really judge either way. 

The redhead sipped at her coffee and then she was shaking her head with a small smile. “No, I suppose there’s not. I’m just glad Tony was dressed when he made his announcement.” Her nose wrinkled thinking about just how much of an uproar that would have caused. She’d gotten lucky in that regard. 

“You and Peter will have to come over for dinner sometime soon. I’ll invite May and we can embarrass Peter with old stories, it’ll be fun.” Peter probably would disagree with that statement, but it was fine, Pepper was his godmother, part of her job was embarrassing him. 

Workin’ Five to Nine

#✚ { interaction } ☙ #𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓴𝓲𝓷’ 𝓕𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓝𝓲𝓷𝓮 #✚ { Johnny } ☙ 𝓬𝓾𝓽𝓲𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓸𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓮 #flamexonxbaby

[xpep-in-your-step]

doctorrbbanner‌:

“Just yesterday. A couple of days too late or right on time, depending on who you ask.” He fell in the second camp. He’d been doing okay for too long to get swept up in something like city-wide rioting, but seeing Pepper hurt (and knowing she wasn’t the only one) made him second guess it. If nothing else he might have been able to stop that, or keep Peter from doing…whatever in the hell he’d done. He still wasn’t sure he quite grasped that and planned on checking for himself after he left the hospital. 

He dragged one of the chairs over so he could sit down beside her bed. “I know Tony has probably lined a lot of pockets to make sure you have the best doctors he can get, but if you need anything from me,” he lifted his hand and poked his thumb against his chest, “I’m right here.” He wasn’t exactly spending his days in a hospital, but he technically had the qualifications. Somewhere. 

“You know, Pepper…I’m actually alright.” As alright as it got for Bruce Banner, anyway, and he wasn’t going to shake his fist at it. “I’m actually working on things I want to be working on. The world’s still falling apart, I guess, but…I’m working on parts of that, too.” 

Pepper’s smile was understanding as Bruce explained when he’d gotten into town. She knew the Hulk had his uses, but she had to agree with Bruce that it was probably for the best that he showed up after the riots. There’d been too many unpowered civilians in the riot to risk letting the Hulk out. “Well, I’m just glad you’re here.” 

The redhead’s laugh was soft, anything more hurt, and her eyes were kind as they met Bruce’s. “I tried to talk him out of it, but...” She didn’t need to finish the sentence, they both knew how hard it was to talk Tony out of anything once he got an idea in his head. 

Now that her friend was sitting close enough Pepper reached out to take his hand, squeezing gently. “I very well may take you up on that. Weeks of bed rest with only Tony for company and I may stab him.” She was only half-teasing. She cared about Tony, very much, but she knew how he could get and weeks with nothing to distract them would drive them both nuts. 

Pepper’s smile grew, genuinely happy for her friend. “I am really happy to hear that, Bruce.” Tilting her head in his direction amusement danced in her eyes, painkillers perhaps making her a bit less serious than she ought to have been. “These days it seems like the world’s always on the cusp of ending, but I feel better knowing you’re on it. Perhaps you can rope Tony in, I’ve tried to get through to him, but...” The amusement faded, replaced with concern. Tony had been out of her reach for quite some time now, and while she would never give up on him she couldn’t put her life on hold for him. Pulling herself out of her thoughts she shook her head a bit. “Well, you know how he gets sometimes.” 

#✚ { interaction } ☙ #𝓢𝓾𝓻𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓮 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓲𝓽 #✚ { Dr. Banner } ☙ 𝓫𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓫𝓻𝓪𝔀𝓷 #doctorrbbanner‌

[xpep-in-your-step]

ironman2point0‌:

So far Tony’s time in Star City was spent mostly on transferring everything from the main headquarters. This was the place he intended to stay, for the time being, and it was inconvenient not to have everything he needed when he needed it. There was nothing more frustrating than wanting access to something at some ungodly hour and having no way to get his hands on it. It was still a work in progress, but the penthouse was quickly filling up (and getting cluttered). Felt a little more like home. 

Even though he still refused to analyze why, he also had an open line of communication with Steve. He told Pepper he was going to get carpal tunnel in his thumb from deleting all of his messages. Tony Stark needed his thumbs. What else separated them from animals? 

It didn’t exactly mean he was more involved. He expressed disinterest in current events, at least when other people tried to talk about them, but he kept up with what was going on. He knew about the tensions building in the city. He knew about what happened to the NOVA facility and why the protests were happening.

But if anyone asked, Tony didn’t have any intention of being near the protests. It wasn’t that he didn’t sympathize with the mutants and their plight, or fully agree with it, as it were, but it always seemed like a massive waste of time. Maybe he didn’t use his time as well as he could, but he wasn’t going to waste it carting around signs and shouting. There were better ways to fight.

Seconds after their call connected and he heard a scream that instilled a rare moment of panic, Tony was there, already in the suit, and he didn’t even bother answering her question. In moments of crisis he had the tendency to turn eerily calm, but there was something different about Pepper in crisis. People he cared about seemed to trump his default setting, which was a solemn and inconvenient reminder. He took in her injuries instantly and in seconds he had her in his arms and they were high above the crowd below. There was no question of priority. The others were there, he saw them, and he wasn’t wasting any time getting Pepper to the hospital. 

Despite the panicked thoughts that raced through his head, his voice was deceptively calm. “Just upgraded the GPS. Hold on, Pep. I haven’t perfected the damsel catch yet.” This suit was heavier. Stronger. 

The moment Tony touched down in front of her in the suit relief washed through Pepper. The entrance alone made everyone around them take a few steps back. Without the crush of people holding her up Pepper swayed on her feet, but luckily, Tony was there to catch her. “Oh, good, you got my call.” Her entire body hurt, but she was doing her best to ignore it for the time being.

The redhead’s uninjured arm hooked around the suit’s neck, clinging to Tony as he took off. Her other hand was doing its best to hold pressure against her stab wound, but given her shoulder injury trying to reach her side was more painful than beneficial. Resting her head on a hard metal shoulder she laughed dryly. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I’m not a damsel then.” She was teasing him, trying to distract herself from the fact that she was starting to feel light-headed, though if it was from the altitude or the blood loss she wasn’t sure. 

Closing her eyes she frowned, doing her best to ignore the tears streaming down her cheeks as well as the pain. “It was Peter. Something’s wrong, he wouldn’t—” She winced, pain making her press closer, cling a little tighter as they flew through the air, glad that Cassia was hooked into FRIDAY and she didn’t have to yell to be heard over the wind. “We have to help him, Tony, we can’t leave him to deal with this on his own.” She didn’t think Tony would ever do that, so stating it was redundant, but at the moment she wasn’t exactly thinking coherently. 

Holding Out for a Hero

#✚ { interaction } ☙ #𝓗𝓸𝓵𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓞𝓾𝓽 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓪 𝓗𝓮𝓻𝓸 #✚ { Tony } ☙ #ironman2point0

[xpep-in-your-step]

flamexonxbaby‌:

“It’s not as good if you’re expecting it. Have some showmanship, woman.” He returned the embrace with one arm and followed her over to the sofa, taking a few beats to admire the view she had behind her desk. It was a nice office, to say the least. Star City wasn’t New York, but it was alright to look at. He broke away from it and held up one finger from the side of his cup, “Also, for the love of all things holy, please don’t let your robot scold me with my full name. I think I got hives.”

“Susie is good. I mean, I guess…as good as anybody is when nothing ever goes the way you planned for it to.” That was the boat they all kept riding in. He was glad to have his sister in the city with him, but even after years of the Fantastic Four being split he still felt kind of incomplete. Peter helped. He helped a lot. Johnny was more than happy to change the subject to that, instead. “It’s been weird having everybody know. He’s not just dorky Peter anymore. He’s Spider-Man to everybody.” It had made Johnny uncharacteristically protective.

Pepper chuckled a bit at Johnny’s indignation that his entrance couldn’t be recreating, not minding the dramatics— she dealt with Tony Stark on a regular basis. “Of course not, forgive me, I tend to leave the pomp and flash to Tony.” He had mastered it long ago. 

As they settled on the couch and Cassia was brought up the redhead grinned, still smiling as she sipped her coffee. “It’s a very handsome name, Johnny, but for the sake of your health I’ll have a word with her.” She couldn’t help but tease him, blue eyes dancing. She’d always been fond of Johnny, he never took anything too seriously, which was a breath of fresh air when you spent all day dealing with billionaire businessmen. 

Pepper made a sympathetic sound, she could relate. She hadn’t planned to split from Tony, or to be running his company, and she certainly hadn’t planned on moving to Star City, of all places. “Do give her my regards the next time you see her. I’ve been meaning to put something on the books, but...” It had slipped through the cracks, like most things that weren’t of vital importance. 

As the topic shifted to Peter Pepper sat back, the Starbucks cup coming to rest on her knee. She nodded her agreement, she’d gone into a mild panic when Spider-Man’s unmasking had been broadcast live. “I remember going through something similar when Tony made his announcement. I’d like to tell you that the feeling passes, but it doesn’t.” Her smile was kind as she attempted to reassure him. “Not completely, at least. It does get better, easier to manage.” Which was a good thing since now she was worrying over Tony and her godson both. 

Workin’ Five to Nine

#✚ { interaction } ☙ #𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓴𝓲𝓷’ 𝓕𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓝𝓲𝓷𝓮 #✚ { Johnny } ☙ 𝓬𝓾𝓽𝓲𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓸𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓮 #flamexonxbaby