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

[lasergrenades]

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!)

Comments

E!

[choiced]

Zelos can't avoid going outside forever. He'll need food, eventually, despite it being extremely difficult to eat for the last few weeks. And going from one building to another usually means walking outside for at least a few minutes.

There comes a point where even Zelos has to admit it's time to get over himself.

In the initial second after getting pelted in the head with a snowball, he's confused enough to stumble and almost fall. What the -- ? See, this is what he gets for going outside. A snowball to the head. He can't even remember the last time someone did that; he's avoided snow ever since he was a kid.

He spins to snap at whatever small kedan child threw it, sees Pepper, and blinks for a moment in surprise.

"Hey!" The smile that breaks out is an attitude 180 from just a few seconds before. "Pepper! What's up?" Zelos reaches up to shake some snow out of his hair. "Do you know how warnings are supposed to work?"

:3

[lasergrenades]

That is a precious look to get out of Zelos and she will be remembering that expression on him for a while. Her grin has an edge of slyness to it as she approaches. "I do in fact know how warnings work, yes, that's why I used one the way I did," Pepper tells him. "I threw it softly on purpose."

She hopes she won't be wiping to smile off his face too soon. "You look good with snow on you anyway. I hadn't seen you in a while, figured I'd come find you. Wanna get something to drink? There's a nice cafe around the corner. They have awesome pastries, too."

Pepper has not yet been informed that angels have a unique relationship with food and drink, or that Zelos is in any way transforming into one.

[choiced]

"Yeah, but you warned me after you threw the -- " Zelos cuts himself off. Does he actually care? Pepper's a friend. "Nah, never mind. Drinks sound awesome! Lead the way."

Anything that gets them out of the snow is a good idea, as far as Zelos is concerned. Pepper means well, but he tensed automatically and nearly imperceptibly when she said he looked good with snow on him. Maybe it's just because he's had so many reminders recently of the bad decisions he made, but the memories of blood spreading across white snow beneath him are particularly vivid today.

... Wait, is he supposed to throw a snowball back? Isn't that how snowball fights work? Huh. Maybe it can wait.

[lasergrenades]

Pepper, being observant, thinks she sees Zelos tense, but it's mostly impossible to tell why and if it was for an actual reason or some other kind of reaction. He could have had a mild muscle spasm for all she knew.

"Onward." She directs them to the cafe; it's not too busy, fortunately. After a moment to rid herself of a fine coating of snowflakes, Pepper orders tea and claims a table that's off to the side and away from some of the other patrons. "How are you liking Keeliai so far?"

[choiced]

"It's not bad." One pot of tea; Zelos can handle that, if Pepper doesn't watch who drinks most of it too closely. One mug. Not that different from drinking water. Really, really stale water.

... Aaaaand he's starting to plan around hiding his lack of appetite. That's probably not a good sign. Maybe it is time to go see Raine.

"The food's kind of weird," Zelos goes on. "It's like seafood, but not. I guess the Woodsmen are still recovering from that storm; I see a lot more seafood around than anything grown." He waits for Pepper to pour for herself first, then helps himself to a mug. Chivalry, he tells himself. That's all it is. "And those trams! What do they run on? I get the consoles. They're still weird, but I get them. Giant turtle, lots of leftover energy. But the trams are basically metal husks without any exspheres."

[lasergrenades]

"Yeah, it's been a little rough growing food for the past year, honestly. Tavimbi was really cold, but at least we were able to trade and get some new tech, so it wasn't too bad. The storm was a big hit," she agrees, and gives him a wry smile. "Stay away from the sea prunes if you're not a big fan of fish."

She tilts her head at him as she pours herself some tea. It's a green variety, light and with a hint of roasted brown rice. "They're powered by something called electricity. What's an exsphere?"

[choiced]

"No, I love fish. I'm not saying all the seafood's a bad thing. It's just that some of it has way too many tentacles."

Just like octopuses.

Electricity -- like Volt. But obviously the trams aren't powered by Volt, which leaves Zelos just as confused and interested as he was before. "Right," he says, "but how? Exspheres are what power tech where I come from. They're what make localised electricity possible. But the trams here all run without them. Is there a source, like in the tracks?"

He doesn't taste the hint of roasted brown rice, when Zelos tries the tea. He doesn't taste anything. It's like trying to take another bite when you're so full you could burst.

[lasergrenades]

"That is a very good point."

Although calamari is delicious.

"Yeah, they're wired in the tracks but the power source is somewhere else." She elaborates a little with explicitly vague narration. "My friend Tony can give you way more details about it, that's not really my area. He's an engineer." Among other things. "Have you been spending time with Raine and Sheena or wandering?"

[choiced]

How can you have that much electricity around without Summon Spirits? Or without a whole bunch of elves and half-elves manipulating mana, for that matter. Maybe talking to Pepper's friend, Tony the engineer, is actually a good idea.

"Wandering." Zelos puts his mug down and kicks back in the chair. "Sheena just woke up last week, so I'm giving her space like the sensitive gentleman I am." Totally the only reason; totally nothing to do with a whole lot of baggage that has yet to be dealt with. "And Raine's usually too busy to do much, with the Guild or with her own projects. I've been looking for work. I did not think I'd ever be a bartender before this."

Thank you, Pepper, for not mentioning Kratos. So considerate.

[lasergrenades]

"A bartender, huh. You should check out the Golden Koi - Jackie does some of his own bartending but he'd probably appreciate the help. I don't think he's found a permanent replacement since Desmond left," Pepper tells him.

She looks down at her tea. This is a sensitive subject to broach, and she's not entirely certain how, but Zelos has given her something of an opening. "I realize we haven't known each other for very long but I hope-- I hope you know you don't have to do that with me. Pretend you're just a flirt and nothing else." Pretend that you're okay.

[choiced]

Look at that! Zelos only asked the owner of the Midnight Hotel about bartending on a whim, and he's already making a full career out of it. The suggestion perks him up. "Jackie, huh?" he says, head tipped. "Let me think about it." He's fast losing track of who's a Foreigner and who isn't, but more and more he's realising it doesn't matter. As long as he's earning money and having fun, he doesn't care who's actually giving him the money.

"What are you talking about?" Zelos looks at Pepper, bemused. "Of course I'm not just a flirt. I'm a bartender, and I'm a gentleman. I'm extremely pretty. I'm not too shabby with a sword, either, if I do say so myself." He smiles brilliantly, then sobers. "What brought this up?"

[lasergrenades]

"He's a good guy," Pepper assures Zelos.

She offers him a small smile after the elaboration of his skills. "That's true, you're all those things, too. Definitely pretty." She sighs, and takes a sip of tea before continuing, and makes sure to look him in the eye when next she speaks. "You weren't telling me everything when you said you were pretending to betray Lloyd. Why?"

Pepper wants to hear it from him, if he'll answer and not just get up and leave.

[choiced]

And that's about when Zelos's expression, fairly amicable up until this point, falters.

She has to know at least part of the truth, if she bothered tracking him down to ask. But Zelos can't tell how much she knows. It probably depends on who told her, but there isn't a way to find out without admitting that she's right.

Dammit. One reprieve. One fresh start. Was that really too much to ask for?

"It doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Zelos picks up the mug again, just to give himself something to do. "Not while we're stuck here. Who'd you talk to? Raine?"

[lasergrenades]

Pepper's expression is soft, sad but not pitying. "No, not Raine. Well, I talk to her all the time, but not about you. I could tell something was up." It's the truth, although she's omitting the full picture herself this time. She traces the lip of the mug, an almost absent motion that she's developed here when she gets pensive. "I'm not asking about what the specifics of the situation were, unless you want to explain it." Kratos has told her already. "I'm asking why you felt like you couldn't tell me the whole story."

And she's asking again, because he didn't answer.

[choiced]

Not Raine. So maybe Pepper doesn't know that much. It's just weird she wouldn't say something right away, if she could already tell he wasn't being honest.

"'Cause it's not a good story." Zelos lifts his mug to take a sip and changes his mind at the last minute, so the mug slowly descends back down to the table while he talks. "And I don't come off well in it. Raine said things turn out okay, and I'm taking her word for it. Problem solved."

[lasergrenades]

"That's not really how problems this big work," Pepper says quietly. "My friend Tony told me things turn out okay after an alien mothership explodes over my home. My friends live. My dad lives. I live. But hundreds of people are going to die the instant I get home, and there's nothing I can do about it."

One problem solved. Many more created.

"I don't care how you come off, Zelos. I care about you. Not your image, not your skills, not your job. You," she insists firmly. Pepper wants to say more, but she has a sense that restraint is important here, to gauge his reaction.

[choiced]

Zelos doesn't have an answer for her at first. The amicable expression slips completely off his face and leaves him looking somehow both indifferent and lost.

How often has he wanted exactly this? Someone who cares about him, not his destiny, not his duty, not his privilege or position. But it rings hollow. It feels like when Lloyd said he trusted Zelos, blissfully unaware of what Zelos was planning. It feels... wrong. Just wrong. The well-meaning insistence of someone who has no idea whatsoever what Zelos is really like.

"Why?" he asks. "We just met. You don't know anything about me. Why do you care so much?"

It doesn't sound accusatory. It sounds casual, like he's asking Pepper why she likes her favourite colour.

[lasergrenades]

He's doing that thing again where he pretends things are fine. Now is not the time to call him on it.

That's a good question, anyway. "Because I'm good at reading people, and you're nice. Because you respected my boundaries as soon as I laid them out. Because you are a lot more than you came off as in your first network broadcast," she explains gently. "Because I want to." Pepper smiles, almost wry."And also because I can take care of myself if you turn out to be a space god that tries to kill me. Had that happen once already, so I think I'd be better prepared the second time around."

[choiced]

"A space god tried to kill you?" Zelos asks. It's not at all what he actually meant to say, but defensive habits are tough to break. His mouth quirks in a half-smile. "Is that the same guy you were talking about when you said you forgave someone for trying to kill you?"

There's a story there, and Zelos wants to hear it. More than he wants to talk about himself, anyway. Pepper isn't making that anywhere near as fun as it usually is.

[lasergrenades]

Well, if it keeps Zelos talking, this is better than nothing. "Yeah, that's him. We went to high school together. He pretended to be our friend but he was using us to find these super powerful pieces of alien tech." She doesn't want to get too specific and rat out Gene; this was the darkest part of his past. "He didn't realize they would bring down Armageddon on everyone's heads."

Pepper drinks some of her tea and sighs again. "Turns out his whole life was pretty messed up. It makes sense. People don't become supervillains when everything is going right in their lives. But he got the chance to change here. He's grown a lot."

[choiced]

That... sounds a lot like what happened with Zelos. He doesn't know if Pepper meant that comparison to be so obvious, but either way, it strikes a chord and ruins his attempt to stop thinking about it.

"That's good." He stares down at the table. "Getting the chance to change. Glad it worked out for you."

He doesn't say anything else. A smile, a laugh, even a little careless joy in his tone -- they all seem weirdly difficult to summon just then.

[lasergrenades]

Their situations are remarkably similar without Pepper having to draw any parallels on her own.

"Yeah, me too. It's not the only time Keeliai has meant a second chance for someone, either. A lot of my closest friends have left pretty bloody pasts behind them, and everyone here has secrets. The turtle has a type," she says quietly. Her boyfriend tried to end the world twice and had murdered a number of people, one of her best friends had murdered him and tried to end her world, and many of her other friends have a laundry list of crimes that haunt them.

"I know this probably isn't what you want to hear." No one likes being confronted by their problems, especially by mere acquaintances. "And you're right, we don't know each other very well. I'm sorry to bring it up like this, but I didn't want to pretend I didn't know I wasn't getting the full story when I actually did. I told you I'm a bad liar, anyway." Pepper fiddles with her mug for a few seconds, thinking. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... you can tell me to drop it, but I can't. I can't pretend I don't know that something else is going on with you. I can try not to push too hard on the why, but I'll give you fair warning that I don't let go of things very easily." Or at all, really. "I'd like to get to know you better, and that means getting to know all of you, not just the nice parts. I already know the darker bits are there, I just don't know what they are," she reasons. "So. Offer's open, if you want to tell me what's happened, and it'll stay open until whenever you're ready or until you go home. Side note, though. I'm going to keep caring about you even if you don't tell me."

[choiced]

That sure is a whole lot of confusing things, one right after the other.

Zelos doesn't know Pepper well enough to guess if she's always this weirdly persistent, or if she actually did get context from somewhere. People don't care about him for him without knowing some of the truth. And even then, he'd always assumed the truth would be a dealbreaker. Leave it to Lloyd and the others to prove that wrong.

Pepper... probably means it, to be fair. But Zelos still can't help feeling like she knows.

"You," he says eventually, "are a doll. Okay, fine, you win. I'm not telling you the whole story. The... what did you call it? The darker bits of me. But unless you want to try to guess what I'm hiding, that's as far as you'll get."

He's grinning again. It's an invitation, sort of. It would make for an interesting game. "But you'll still care about me, right?"

[lasergrenades]

It's both, Zelos, the answer is both. Pepper is stubborn as all get out and she also has information that prompted this conversation. The truth is rarely easy to hear, but Pepper has learned how important it is.

She gives him a small, slightly bemused smile. "Was I speaking in tongues? Yes, I'll still care, no matter how annoying you get. Dork." Unless he starts attacking her or people she cares about, that'll hold, and even then she'd probably still try not to hurt him too much to figure out why Zelos had gone bonkers. But that would be an extreme situation.

Pepper sighs quietly and looks away. This is not exactly the way she wants to start out a friendship, but it's going to be now or it's going to be later. Zelos probably won't tell her. Perhaps she should try a roundabout way.

"But if you try to get yourself killed again, I'm going to smack you into next week," she informs him, in an entirely un-roundabout way. Pepper, no.

[choiced]

The grin brightens and Zelos spreads his hands. "What can I say? I stopped listening by then. Just needed to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into."

That's absolutely a dorky grin, and it's absolutely dorky on purpose.

It all falters moments later with what Pepper says next. She can't mean -- no, of course she doesn't. It's just a figure of speech, right? Zelos sits back and eyes her consideringly. "What makes you think I ever did that?" he asks, voice and face carefully crafted for bemused confusion. It's easy, after so much practice.