I'll be missing you

[the_other_eight]

Characters: Pepper and YOU (Also a closed log for Pepper, Annabeth, Percy(?), and Victor)
Date: July 14th and probably a few days after
Location: Her apartment or Stark Industries
Situation: Tony's gone. Pepper is NOT ok with this, but she's pretending everything is fine and going through the motions of day to day life. (Or at least trying to)
Warnings: Pepper is a sad monkey, but that's about it.




(OOC: I'm going to put up two sub headers for anyone that wants to visit her/run into her in the next few days.)

Comments

At the apartment

[the_other_eight]

If you're visiting her immediately after JARVIS's transmission Pepper Probably won't answer, but the door in unlocked. When you open the door the Mark VI is standing in the living room towering over everything in a kinda weird manner. Pepper will be by the terminal with a bottle and two glasses of Tony's favorite wine sitting on the terminal. Neither has been touched.

Otherwise she will continue to be doing business as usual. She'll be insisting that she's alright.

[wintershepherd]

Jack doesn't linger long after the automated message from Tony is posted, listens to it and to the portion left for him but doesn't really process it at first. All he allows himself is Tony has gone and he needs to find Pepper because Tony has gone and finding her is the next most important thing.

He doesn't really knock, just presses a hand to the door and pushes it softly open to find her inside. The armor gets a glance but he moves towards her first.

"Pepper?"

[the_other_eight]

Pepper takes a sharp breath inward and she offers him the best smile she can muster. It's weak at best and it doesn't reach her eyes at all. She's very obviously been crying, but the tears are dry now, leaving bloodshot eyes and deep circles in their wake. She's trying to convince herself that this is for the best. That he's back at home and ... and what? And he's going to almost die in the battle for New York? True, but there are other things. There's Stark Tower and them. He has practically their whole relationship to look forward to experiencing again. All their time here won't even be a memory for him. He won't remember valentine's day, or his birthday, or how he had decided that she was his Christmas present ... that'll all be hers to keep.]

Jack.

[wintershepherd]

He doesn't hold the attempted smile against her, not when he doubts he could do any better if he wanted right now. Jack crosses the room without a word, wraps his arms around her and hugs her tightly.

[the_other_eight]

Pepper doesn't say anything, she just hugs him back tightly. There's nothing to say, Tony's gone.

[angermanaging]

Bruce gives her a day or two to get her bearings back before approaching her. He knows that if he'd lost Betty again, he'd want some time to grieve in peace and find the pieces of his composure wherever he could manage to find them. But eventually he does seek her out, and not at work-- at her apartment. Where they'd let him stay when he didn't have a place to go to.

He knocks quietly on the door, calling out, “It's me.” If nothing else, they need to discuss his percentage of Stark Industries and what they'll do with it, but more than that he just wants to see how she is.

[the_other_eight]

Pepper will always have an open door for you Bruce. Though the Mark VI is still standing inert in the living room. If pressed she'll say she hasn't had time to move it. It completely has nothing to do with the stupid idea that if she leaves it there she can almost pretend that Tony is being an idiot and wearing the armor in the apartment ... again.

She'd been trying to sort out some left over paperwork from the leave of absence that she had taken due to the issue with the turtle, but things seemed to keep going pear shaped and not make any sense. When she heard the knock it was a welcome distraction. She tries to give Bruce a warm smile, but it's not nearly as warm as it ought to be, still, she's trying. The Archive is still out, probably still at the Stark Industries building, so they have the apartment to themselves.

"Bruce, It's good to see you." She gestures for him to come in and gets ready to put the tea kettle on for him.

[angermanaging]

It's honestly somewhat disconcerting, even unnerving, to have the Mark VI standing in the living room. Bruce doesn't say anything on it, but it does make him pause, giving it a glance; Tony's absence is somehow stronger in its presence for him, instead of lessened. But Bruce gets on with his purpose here and follows her in, shutting the door behind him, unable to manage a returning smile but giving her an open nod.

"I was wondering how you are," he says simply. "Since I... owe you the looking after." As a return for that time she'd checked in on him after he'd killed those kedan.

[the_other_eight]

Does it help that the thing is 'plugged in'? She had JARVIS run her through the 'how to' guide on recharging it. She's nostalgic, not stupid, a time might come very soon when she'll have to actually use the suit. She'll need to be ready. Once it's charged and she's had enough time to get accustomed to the idea of being in charge of the suit, she's actually planning on asking Tony to teach her to use it. How disconcerting will that be Bruce?

The line pressed into her lips is halfway to a deep frown. "I'm alright." She has to be alright. She can't not be. There's a business to run and a large number of people counting on her to take up the reigns vacated by Tony (Well, to be fair she was the one running the place already, Tony was just CEO in name after she showed up.)

At Stark Industries

[the_other_eight]

Pepper knows enough to know she has to keep going through the routine. Her heart feels like it doesn't exist anymore, it's a dimension away with Tony, but things still need to get done. So even though Tony is gone and she should be taking time off, Pepper will be walking the halls of Stark Industries and checking on the projects. She barely smiles, and when she does it's only on her list, not reaching her eyes.

She'll be clearing out Tony's lab of his personal affects and readying it for whatever the next project that needs a new room is. The schematics and designs that Tony's been working on which aren't related to the Iron Man Project will be distributed to those who are best suited to continue the projects.

[definingfuture]

As soon as Pepper shows up at the building, he's there. He was there when the message was sent, but tracking her back to her suite would have been pushing it even for Tony. But he is waiting outside, still wearing the suit he flew there in. He at least had the decency to remove the helmet, but he's been waiting.

"Tell me this is a mistake. Some kind of trick."

After faking his own death and disappearing as much as he has, Tony can't overlook the possibility that this is his double's way to being left alone. He doesn't think it is, but he can hope. It's strange to feel this affected by having the other Tony leave. They barely knew each other, and yet that offhanded comment had him flying across two districts to confirm what he already knew.

[the_other_eight]

Pepper's jaw is set as she moves to enter the building. She's pushing herself, but she needs this. She needs to keep going instead of sitting alone in the apartment with the Mark VI staring at her from the living room.

When she sees Tony, she pauses, almost taking a step back at the sight of him. After losing her Tony, seeing this one is, a shock, at first. Then he spoke.

"No, it's not a trick Mr Stark. Tony disappeared last night when his message was broadcast."

[definingfuture]

He curses under his breath. It shouldn't be happening like this. Not when the two of them were so far. It's one of those situations he'd spent a lot of time thinking about in the past. What if things between them had gone just a bit differently? A bit better?

This. This is what happens. He can't help feeling some twisted sort of resentment at losing his alternate self. Pepper's answer is stiff and distant. Not that he blames her for that.

"I'm sorry. I know it's hard, but if there's anything I can do... If you need help with anything, I want you to let me know."

[constants]

At some point when Pepper is out of the apartment, Ivy bakes cookies. She hasn't said a word one way or another about Tony's departure, mostly because she doesn't know what to say. Not that she says much in the first place, though now that her powers are mostly back she's not secluding herself as much. But she doesn't really know how to be empathetic or comforting so she opts for nothing instead of some uncomfortable disaster. Despite this, and despite how she longs for distance from the people around her, Ivy can't ignore it completely. Besides, Pepper was nice enough to give her a job and then a place to stay after Tony crashed though her ceiling. (Occasionally she stops for a few seconds and looks at the Mark VI, remembering its offensive entrance into her life. And then she moves on because it's just a thing even though it's clearly not to Pepper.)

And she does have a little empathy for Pepper. Ivy remembers when her only friend died, and how distraught she was. She imagines it's probably worse for Pepper and dredges up memories from previous lives to try and understand a little better. And because of this, she bakes cookies. Because if she can't say anything, she can at least give Pepper some cookies.

She actually leaves them in a plain box on Pepper's desk at work because, after some deliberation, she decided that she wouldn't know what to say if Pepper mentioned it to her. So when no one is around Ivy throws up a veil to make herself invisible and sneaks into Pepper's office, leaving the box on her desk. If anyone checks the security feed (if there is one) it'll show the door opening on it's own and a box suddenly appearing on the desk with a tiny bit of static on the video (Ivy is good at magic, but even she can't completely stop it from messing up the technology). There's no note on the box and Ivy did a very good job of cleaning up in the kitchen after her baking, but it's not impossible for Pepper to figure out who they're from.

[the_other_eight]

When Pepper returns to find the box of cookies on her desk she's clearly confused. This is not something that happens to her on a normal basis. She thinks about throwing them out. Anyone who would get food from an unknown sender would throw them out. Pepper chooses to ignore them and go back to work. Still, maybe twenty minutes later she's somehow got one in her hand and is nibbling on it as she sorts out the lab space scheduling for next month.

[ihope]

Everything's all right, and people are only going through the motions of day to day life. Or at least trying to. Damn right. And for Lex Luthor, that means he can't possibly bear the idea of holding only the charity-given juulan to his name. It wasn't that money was a priority-- getting home to where he had something was. It's been a day and a half since he was pulled from his previous life to this, and he can't take it. There are too many things in his mind, all swarming, all like parasites looking for a crook and cranny to seep into. He hated feeling like this. Trapped. In himself. What the hell--

And then... And then Emergency Protocol Missing Playboy happened.

And he had to get a look at Stark Industries. He knows far better than to start wandering through restricted areas when he doesn't know anybody who's in on the projects and he has a distinct sense that he might stick out like a sore thumb in his Keeliain clothing. But he's learning what he can through sights and if he happens to pass Pepper through a hall--

"Do you work here?"

Excuse him, he knows what tact is but can't see a reason for it now.

[the_other_eight]

The question gains a tight lipped once over. She's never seen this man inside Stark Industries before (besides, everyone at SI knows who she is unless they're 18 or under). She hasn't seen him over the network either (she would have remembered a man who vaguely reminded her of Bruce Willis). This meant several things; he was new, he'd managed to get past the front desk secretary, and he was wondering alone around sensitive materials. Still, what was done was done, and she really liked him in the Sixth Sense, so she extended her hand to him, shifting her portfolio under her arm.

"I'm Pepper Potts, acting CEO of Stark Industries until Mr Stark's return." Who was she kidding, she'd been 'acting' CEO since she arrived and Tony hoisted all the managerial duties onto her. If he, no, when he returned, she doubted he's take back up the position. "And you are?"

[ihope]

She receives a faint, polite smile for her trouble. A firm handshake the moment it's offered but it's not any sort of test of strength. When he realizes, yes, she very much does work here, he even half-way grimaces at his way of having spoken to her. But what can you do. "Lex Luthor," he says. "CEO of LexCorp." And forgive the proud undertone; it's his first time saying it aloud.

One, two seconds and he has his hand back at his side and slipping into his pockets. Professionals will say that's not something to do on an interview, and luckily Lex isn't here for one. Acting CEO, she had said, and he'd very lightly like to point out, ducking his head so very slightly as in remorse for what he's about to say, that "I highly doubt Mr. Stark is going to be so eager to return."

Business is business, and here's an abandoned vessel. A man's got to try his luck when he can. Opportunities arise every instant, only the weak don't pounce at them.

[franchisepirate]

Westley's taken it upon himself to get the lay of the land, so to speak, and Stark Industries stands out among the city. That it's foreigner-built, according to the automated post, makes it all the more intriguing. Westley made a point to happen by on his way between visits to no place in particular.

The woman on her way out of the building wouldn't be easy to miss by any standards, and Westley has a particular affinity for noticing beautiful women with a regal bearing. He respects them. So rather than "accidentally" bump into her and feign ignorance about his location, he determines that the direct approach would be best.

"Pardon me," he says as he approaches and maintains a mannerly distance between them. "Is this building under your management?" It seemed a safe bet that someone like this is running something inside, in one sense or another. "It drew my attention and curiosity, I must admit."

[the_other_eight]

“I believe that's the point.” She offered him a soft smile. It wasn't something that truly reached to her eyes, but it was enough to pass as friendly. “What can I do for you?” She wondered if the man know what Stark Industries did, or if he just thought the building itself was impressive.

[franchisepirate]

He returns the smile easily, though soon enough breaks eye contact to gaze upwards at the building. His awe isn't manufactured; he's never seen such a thing.

"I'm not quite certain. I have been told I'm from a bygone era, technologically speaking, so I'm seeking to educate myself in matters of the modern era. This seemed a place to start, if only by virtue of being easily found."

(Closed to Annabeth, Percy and Victor)

[the_other_eight]

Pepper had gotten to the hydroponic garden early. She took the time to walk the rows and look over the plants. Bruce really had done something amazing here. There was so much growth and development in this one small area ... she just wished that they could do more. Perhaps what was inside that book would help with that.

[alpha_squad_leader]

"Hi, Ms. Potts."

Victor's voice comes from somewhere behind Pepper but he's nowhere in sight. After a few moments, he fades into view as he de-camouflages. He's got the bag containing the book with him and he's looking a lot better than he did the other day. He's looking more green and the spikes and patches of green that had been missing are mostly grown back.

[sophos]

Annabeth likes to prompt, and she usually is. Except when she's got company. Fortunately, they're only a few minutes late when they finally reach the garden, and she steps through it with easy familiarity.

She's assuming it relates to something she said in the whole other planes drop; nobody wants to set up a meeting with content so precious they don't give any clues.

She spots Pepper right away, then Victor, instantly noting the bag he's holding but keeping her face mostly neutral. "Miss Potts. Victor." A quick nod, then she doesn't really bother with idle conversation. "What was so important?"

[kelpful]

Percy doesn't mean to slow Annabeth down, he really doesn't. But his ADHD's been in overdrive since Asti started getting better, and there are just so many distractions. Thankfully, he's curious enough about this whole mystery meeting to want to get there relatively quickly, otherwise they might've been help up even longer.

He raises a hand in greeting. The other one is threaded through Annabeth's. "Hey." A beat. "Uh, yeah. What she said."