tushanshu_logs | If you close your eyes in a moment you will be there

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If you close your eyes in a moment you will be there

Characters: Pepper Potts, Yami no Bakura, Tony Stark, Adrien Agreste, and you!
Date: Throughout February
Location: House Spicy Iron Dragon, KPD Headquarters, and around Keeliai
Situation: It's snowing! That means Pepper is dragging friends outside to play. The Dreaming is making itself known in more ways than one, and she's predictably busy as usual.
Warnings/Rating: None yet

A. House Spicy Iron Dragon | Backdated to January | Bakura and Tony

With the dojo as damaged as it was, Pepper offered to have Bakura stay over at the house. Otherwise he was just going to be grumpy as all get out for however long it took to repair it. Her roommates might not be thrilled, but it was her life, and her boyfriend, for lack of a better term, and she wasn't going to leave Bakura hanging. She'd left the Rescue armor at the dojo to stand guard for the night, so by the time they got back to the house Pepper was a little chilled and definitely damp.

"I'm going to make tea," she declared as soon as they walked in the door. "There will also be scones."

B. KPD Headquarters | Feb 8 | Adrien

The police force is still busy with the last of the hurricane repairs, but it seems like the snow has deterred a lot of people from getting up to mischief. Her armor stands near her desk at the headquarters; it's pretty frigid outside and she's been wearing it every time she's on patrol. Now, though, she's got one of her favorite scarves wrapped around her shoulders and she's working on a backlog of paperwork from the storm.

C. Sky Sector | First half of February | Open

It's snowing! It's also really, really cold, but snow! That means snowball fights are 100% required, and making snowmen, and snow angels, and introducing all of these traditions to anyone willing to hang out. Pepper bundles up as well as she can and ventures outside when she has free time, and it's quite common to see her, red-cheeked and with snowflakes fringing her hair, grinning like a loon and hurling snow at friends.

D. Around Keeliai | Throughout February | Open

The Dreaming makes itself known every so often, and in new and weird ways pretty much every time. Pepper sticks mostly to her schedule, even when she starts hearing rumors about something strange happening among the Foreigners during the second week of February. As long as no one is dying, she mostly doesn't care. There's a lot going on in the city, and there's not much to be done about the Dreaming when it wants to make some noise.

Throughout the month, she can be found at the KPD Headquarters or out on patrol, though she's wearing the Rescue armor when on patrol as a way to keep warm in the snow. Jade Dojo is closed to the public, but Pepper still visits and it's not uncommon to find her in the Wood Sector a few days a week. And since home is in the Sky Sector, that's a good place to look if someone is trying to find her.

E. Central Sector | After Feb 12 | Zelos

After a somewhat tense if enlightening conversation with Kratos, Pepper has been considering Zelos and the potential problems that have been raised. This is a delicate situation for a number of reasons, and she knows she needs to be careful about how she handles things. She can't help Zelos if he pushes her away (although realistically, even if he did she'd keep after him because that's just what she does). It takes a little searching - he doesn't seem to be at the Hotel or the shelter, although she gets told he's been hanging around the Welcome Center a lot. So, that's where Pepper goes looking, and indeed she finds him nearby.

Rather than wave or call hello or do anything remotely resembling an appropriate or traditional greeting, Pepper picks up a large handful of snow, packs it into a ball and throws it at him. It may or may not be aimed at his head. "Hey, Zelos!" Predictably, she is sporting a wide grin, and only after hurling the snowball does she say: "Duck."

F. Midnight Hotel | Mid February | Miles

Having another New Yorker around is always a good thing. Miles is good company, too, although Pepper hasn't had a chance to see him much with the hurricane and the aftermath. Busy is good, but sometimes busy makes it hard to hang out with people. So when things calm down a little and there's enough snow on the ground to even make New York schools call a delay (though probably not a day off), Pepper heads to the Hotel in search of him, sporting a smile and ready to argue the relative merits of different boroughs.

G. Jade Dojo | Late February | Bakura

It's late, but the house was a bit crowded and Pepper knew that the dojo was always more private. Plus, she had offered to come by more often at night since she hadn't been visiting as frequently as she used to now that she was sleeping better. A little before twelve, she slipped out of the house and made her way to the Wood Sector, dodging a few stubborn piles of snow, and left her shoes out on the veranda to avoid tracking in mud or water. Since she was here to spend time with Bakura and not necessarily spar, she wandered into the office and went in search of him, calling his name softly to announce her presence.

(OOC Note: Let me know if you'd like a specific starter, or feel free to make your own!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Given that he'd have probably stayed at the Dojo out of pure stubbornness had there not been an offered alternative, he couldn't deny that this was preferable to staying in his apartment where half the roof was damaged.

"Go and change first," he said. "We're both soaked. Dry clothes will do more than tea."

Pepper considered this. "Good point," she agreed. "Bathroom's around the corner if you want to change, there's towels, too; or you can use my room when I'm done."

She offered him a bright smile and then bounded upstairs. It took her slightly longer to get changed than it would usually, since wet clothing tended to stick to skin. By the time she'd dried off and redressed, Pepper felt a lot better - definitely warmer - and headed to the kitchen to start on the task she'd initially announced doing. They could decide where Bakura was sleeping later.

Getting into warmer and dry clothes did indeed make the difference, and Bakura let the wet ones hang in the bathroom to begin drying for now. The extra outfit he'd grabbed included an oversized sweater, which he had comfortably donned though it made him seem smaller at casual glance.

And, in what was definitely a departure from normal, the Ring was laying on the kitchen table in front of him.

Edited 2017-02-07 05:43 (UTC)

It did not take an especially observant person to notice the Ring laying out. It was unusual, sure, but not concerning. The opposite, really. If Bakura was comfortable enough to take it off here, she wasn't about to complain.

"I'd make a joke about fancy centerpieces but I think that's in the same ballpark as calling it jewelry," Pepper remarked lightly as she passed, going to get the kettle and fill it with water. "You'll just have to pretend to imagine how good it was."

The spike of indignance from the ghosts was almost comically mild, more token than anything. They knew Pepper, they knew her remark was in playfulness, and despite not being complete in any way, they did still understand what humour was.

"I do have a good imagination," he answered lightly, watching her fill the kettle. "So I'm sure I could imagine something suitable."

The Ring was enormously powerful and enormously dangerous, but there was no need for it to be something they couldn't talk about with some lightheartedness every now and then. Pepper put the kettle back on the stove and lit the burner.

"Well, between the two of us, we'll be all set," she said, retrieving mugs from a cabinet and beginning to measure out tea leaves. Switching tack a little: "Not that I really need an excuse to have you stay over, but it sucks that the dojo got so banged up. It's like a second home." They'll repair it, but the damage is a reminder of the fragility of things here.

It was oddly meaningful that Pepper didn't fear the Ring, particularly because she knew both of its origins and what resided within it. Those things wouldn't necessarily protect her from it, but it didn't hurt.

"Aa," he agreed. "There's something to be said for a familiar place."

This wasn't the first time he'd been to this house, but it hadn't been often. Most of the time, Pepper dropped by the dojo-- familiar enough that she hardly ever knocked anymore during the day, and had access to it at all hours if she chose.

"Probably as good a time as any to make upgrades to anything," he added.

The dojo was more private by comparison, given that Pepper now had three housemates.

"That's true," Pepper agreed. Rather than sit, since she'd have to get up once the water boiled anyway, she came over and leaned against the table next to Bakura. "It's probably worth putting in slightly stronger supports this time around. I can ask Tony if he'd be willing to help with some structural engineering, if you'd like. We might even be able to use some of the trees that fell on the dojo - that'll teach them not to do it again," she joked.

(Bakura was here during the forced group residences of the soul lanterns, he had no desire to go back to having multiple housemates again.)

"If he can find time aside from his inventions," Bakura needled. But the jest carried real agreement to the suggestion; he was no architect, and someone with skills in that area would certainly improve the dojo's chances of avoiding this kind of damage again.

"You haven't been by for many night visits lately," he observed, meaning her late night target sparring.

"He could use some time outside of the lab, even if it's another project to work on," Pepper replied. "Shift gears in his brain a little bit."

Plus, the dojo being in good shape meant a) Gene was still employed there, and b) both Pepper and Gene would be happier, so she can't imagine Tony would have any real problem with it.

She tilted her head at the last, a slightly bemused smile on her face. "I've been sleeping better lately." And had fewer recent reasons to be troubled or angry (although there was Erskine). "But I can make a point to come by more often." The unspoken words there being if you want. They certainly got more one-on-one time when she showed up in the middle of the night. "I take enough night shifts that I'm still used to being up late."

"He'll probably think this is beneath him," Bakura scoffed, although he didn't mean it.

"That's good," he nodded, when she said she was sleeping better. For the moment, his own nightly bouts had partly subsided, although the disquieted, restless energy still filled his awake hours.

"Could you, now? You do know the way in."

"It's not like you lock the front door," she teased. "And if he thinks it's beneath him, he'll have to deal with me, and he knows he can't win that fight. We've literally had that fight, and I kicked his butt."

Granted, Tony hadn't made use of Extremis to hack her armor, but if it were hand-to-hand she would have him on the floor in no time. She's also more stubborn than him.

"I vote we take over the living room when the tea is done," Pepper declared. "And bring a plate of cookies along."

"If anyone believes they're welcome to waltz in when I haven't given them permission, I'd be happy to ruin that illusion of theirs," he returned with a wicked smirk. There would probably be terrifying Fiends or something involved in that.

"You'll hear no complaints for that," he agreed.

Despite herself, Pepper mirrored the smirk. Bakura had a way of making being dangerous very appealing, somehow. "Just don't maim anyone permanently," she advised.

While waiting for the tea to boil, Pepper unsealed a container of some of Marie's recent batch of baking and placed a half dozen on a small plate. The kettle whistled shortly thereafter, and soon they had two steaming mugs of tea to go along with the selected treats.

"It's too bad we undid the latest couch fort," she said as she gestured that they go into the living room using her head, since her hands were occupied. "Although boiling water and unstable structures is maybe not the best combination."

"Not permanently," he echoed in agreement, because he was sure that her choice of wording was intentionally leaving the very large loophole of temporarily with her full awareness.

With the rest of the house empty of its other residents, Bakura left the Ring where it was on the table as he followed Pepper to the living room. It was a guilty relief, being able to temporarily separate from Zorc's oppressive presence within it. He could still sense the demon, since the creature was not wholly bound in the Ring alone, but it did change the dynamic.

The ghosts hissed irritably at him for it, angry pinpricks of that resentment digging at him as tangibly as the sharp gold spires... but then it abated as well. They didn't like Zorc any more than he did. They understood the concept of Zorc being the necessary evil.

"That sounds like the setup for a high stakes game," he scoffed.

There are some aspects of Bakura that Pepper knew she couldn't change. She could try to temper his sharper edges and point him in the direction of different choices, but ultimately some things would never be dislodged from the core of his being. Accepting his as he was needed to come before trying to shift the path he was on. No comment was made on the Ring being left in the kitchen, though she did notice it.

She put her mug and the plate of cookies on the coffee table carefully, nudging aside an errant pencil that had escaped the bowl of random things that normally lived there, and flopped onto the couch.

"It sounds like a recipe for scalding ourselves. Not everything is a game," she teased amiably. ~~Please don't use this as penalty game inspiration, Bakura.~~ Pepper patted the cushion next to her. "Here, pull up a seat."

Pepper's acceptance of that, as much as her understanding, was a large part of the reason he'd even agreed to give the whole relationship aspect of things a try.

"Anything's a game if you want it to be, biahbenat," he said slyly.

He'd told her before, when teaching her Duel Monsters (the game, not the summoning) just how ingrained in the modern world it had become. Especially considering that Pegasus had only released it a comparatively short time ago. Plus there were similar style games, like Monsters and Wizards... like the diorama he set out in September.

He obliged her invitation to sit, though irritably flicking a few still-damp strands of hair out of his eyes. While his fresh clothes might have been dry, his hair was going to take a bit longer.

Pepper raised an amused eyebrow at that. "You're trouble," she told him, and it was entirely fond. He's a good kind of trouble, most of the time.

She considered him for a moment after he sat. "I'm going to take payment for putting you up here by using you as a pillow," Pepper announced, and tilted over to drape herself partially across his lap with her feet resting at the other end of the couch.

"As if you're only just now realizing that."

Bakura uttered a mock-sigh as she claimed payment for letting him stay, and as she arranged herself half draped across him. "I suppose that is fair, considering you know I dislike charity," he said. "Although if comfort was what you were after, there are rounder Foreigners available than me."

"Just reminding you that it hasn't escaped my attention," she said lightly.

Pepper grinned up at him at his mild chagrin, settling her hands over her stomach. She'd have to sit up for tea once it was cooled, but this was nice for now. "Yeah, but you're prettier than them and also you're the one right here, so I'm good. I'm very selective about who I designate pillow-worthy," she announced, far too gravely to be totally serious.

As had become typical, Bakura merely hrmphed at Pepper's assertion that he was pretty, but her sprawl atop him was not uncomfortable. "So I'm just convenient for you, is that it?" he asked mischievously.

Bakura was, in her opinion, much more than pretty, but those kinds of higher assessments felt like they needed to be approached carefully.

"You're not 'just' anything for me," Pepper replied, smiling still as she reached over to poke his arm. "This is nice, even if you're not as round as some people."

Tony is exhausted. He isn't soaked, thanks to the armor, but he'd spent enough time outside of it that he is decidedly soggy. He leaves the armor outside – it's hopelessly filthy – and comes in through the back door in the kitchen so he can drip on the tiles instead of the nice wood floors.

There's a still-warm kettle on the stove – Pepper or Gene must be home. He pours himself a cup of tea to steep while he kicks off his waterlogged shoes and socks.

Mug in hand, he trudges into the living room— and stops.

Pepper is here. And so is Bakura. And Pepper is... lying in Bakura's lap? Okay. Tony is... not really sure how he feels about that.

He stares at them for a few seconds, and then lamely offers, "Oh. Hi."

Bakura glances up at Tony's entrance, noting the way he freezes for just a moment too long to be mere surprise. "Hello herset," he said. "Jirai Gumo got your tongue?"

Pepper can hear Tony coming but decides to stay put right where she is. It's comfortable.

Her cheeks turn just a little pink when he freezes, since this must be a bit awkward. Tony and Gene have been both supportive and ??? about her dating Bakura since she told them, and this is the first time it's quite literally come home.

"Hey, Tony. The dojo got sorta smashed up and I offered Bakura a slightly drier place to spend the night," she said by way of explanation for his presence. "Hope that's cool. C'mere, sit down, relax, you look exhausted."

If you close your eyes in a moment you will be there

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I remember writing a response to this?? where did it go???