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

Entry tags:

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

Chat struts into the headquarters with his usual blustery bravado. A wide grin on his face and a jaunty salute to people passing by. He sees Pepper and grins wider, sauntering over to lean on the desk. Largely to be a pain, but also because hey, this is how you friendship right.

"Somebody's busy."

Perfect time to bother her, then.

Pepper looks up when Chat speaks, a wry smile on her face. "Always. Busy really should've been my middle name," she replies.

And since he's conveniently placed himself against the desk, Pepper picks up a file off the stack and swats him with it. But gently.

"Pepper Busy Potts does have a pretty nice ring to it. You could put it on a business card, it's be pawsome."

Any other ridiculous cat puns are cut from the contact, when suddenly a memory emerges to ruin everyone's day.

Chat Noir flips through an open window into a rather fancy looking bathroom. He's a little out of breath, clearly doing some kind of hero work. That is, until a voice that sounds suspiciously like Ladybug's calls through the closed door, followed by a knock.

"Adrien?"

Chat panics. He swiftly turns on the shower, and as the door opens up, he lets the transformation drop. Sure enough, it's Adrien behind that mask. He manages to peer around the corner of the shower in time, managing to hide his actually clothes state from a flustered looking Ladybug, who clearly thinks otherwise.

"Yes?"

"Err um. We. Um. Need to go!" she manages to stammer out. "Too dangerous!! Leave!!!"

"Can I get dressed first?" Adrien offers with an awkward smile.

"Yes yes, of course, if you insist!" Ladybug pauses, shaking herself out of some weird dream-like state. "Yes! No!!! I mean!! Of course you can!!!!"

She slams the door behind her in a panic, and Adrien lets out a breath. That...was close

And then suddenly Chat is standing there, and this is NOT OKAY.

"What the heck?!!!"

This is not the first time Pepper has seen someone else's memory, and of all the ones she has seen, it's the least shaded with ragged grief or violence or four thousands years of wistfulness. In fact, it's... kind of adorable, actually. And it reminds her a little of when she first had to figure out her identity.

She blinks at Chat for a few seconds after the memory fades. And then she breaks out in a grin.

"Well, that was weird," Pepper says, and then her voice drops so only she can hear him. "Adrien."

This was absolutely not supposed to happen. Okay, sure, he'd been considering telling Pepper the truth, but it had been a thought- a HALF thought. A general wondering. It seemed the Dreaming decided to push that forward, and quite frankly, that was rude.

He eyes widen in panic and his little kitty ears fold back on his head. This is the worst day. Officially.

"Any way I can convince you that was a work induced migraine-hallucination?"

Chat/Adrien looks a little scared and the way his ears fold back is genuinely sweet. She raises an amused eyebrow. Really, there's no reason to panic.

"I don't get migraines," she tells him. "C'mon, you do realize you're talking to a fellow superhero, right? I'm not gonna go revealing who you are to everyone in Keeliai. Besides, I was at least sixty-five percent sure you were the same person already anyway."

Ugh. People keep working it out for themselves, and he can't really blame them. He's been getting complacent in his time here- and that might not really be a wise thing. Not when the reasoning behind keeping his identity a secret are still very much there.

"Is it really that obvious?"

Yes. Yes it is. He sighs, the belt tail swishing a little.

"Look, I get it, I do. I'm not worried about you telling people. But if Papillon ever came here- well, everyone who knew the truth about me would end up with a great big target on their backs."

"Yeah, it's pretty obvious," she teases gently. "Something about the hair. You might want to look into voice modulation, too."

Pepper leans forward on her elbows, the mischief giving way to a shade of seriousness. "I fly around in a suit of power armor fighting guys who can manipulate quantum physics, walk through walls, and literally reshape reality. I'm living with, dating, or friends with some of the most powerful and dangerous people on this turtle. And--," Pepper continues, quirking a sly smile. There's a swirl of shadows over her shoulder, and a very tall, armor-clad woman appears in a kneel. "-- I've got her. If this Papillon ever shows up, let him at me. He won't have a very good day."

"I thought the hair thing worked really well."

Adrien, it's literally you with bedhair. Come on, dude. But hey, he does, to his credit, listen to Pepper, and given lets out an appreciative whistle at the light show there. That's...different.

"You know. I keep forgetting hoe insanely powerful people are here," there's a twitch of his tail. "I still don't like the idea of you guys risking your lives on my account, though."

"There are only so many Foreigners with your build and your appearance in Keeliai," Pepper reminds him. "Does Ladybug know yet?"

Ladybug, whom Pepper is now certain goes by the name Marinette when she's out of uniform. They come from the same world, and the pair are quite distinctive.

Pepper's expression turns wry. "Okay, first of all, Papillon - whoever he is - isn't here. If he ever does show up, we'll deal with him, and we'll do it together. That's what teams are for. And second, no offense, but if I want to risk my life to do something, that's my decision and not yours." This last is serious, but still lighthearted. "You're stuck with me, Chat."

"...Okay good point," it was so much easier to hide in Paris. "Um...yeah, actually. We talked about it and decided to tell one another who were are."

Which he's forever glad for, because he really wouldn't have put two and two together otherwise. He's really that dense about it. But it's good. He knows now, and as such he's been able to explain his feelings to the girl a little better. They can build something here, together.

He starts to argue with her, but he stops himself short. He knows better than to put up a fight with Pepper Potts, to be perfectly frank. His smile softens a little.

"I am, huh? Goes to show how great my suffering is," a pause. "...Thanks, Pep."

"Good. Good, yeah. I can't imagine not knowing who Tony and Rhodey are," she replies, shaking her head lightly. "It might be worth telling her I know, too, just so it's less of a surprise."

Pepper is now also certain that Ladybug is Marinette, given that they're from the same world and no one else in Keeliai is. It's a secret that Pepper will keep; as a superhero herself, she knows how important it is.

She grins at him. "You're welcome." Beat. "You know, if everyone know who you both were, no one would be in danger if Papillon came here. At least, no one would be in more danger than anyone else. We'd all be on the same level. Just a thought."

"...Wait, what? You do?" He actually looks worried again. "I...reaaaally shouldn't do that she's super weird about the secret identity thing. She won't even tell me back home and I'm her partner."

And she's scary when she's mad, ok.

"Er- I guess that's...true," outing themselves to everyone isn't something Marinette would agree to, but himself? Maybe. "I'll uh...think about that one."

"I meant about knowing who you are," Pepper amends. "But it's also sort of just math, at this point. No one else from your world is here, you have the same variety of powers, and not many people have the same height and build you guys do. I can talk to her about it if you'd rather not," she offers. Very little scares Pepper Potts, and a heart-to-heart with a fellow teenage superhero is not on that short list.

To the last, Pepper shrugs lightly. "It's an idea. You don't have to, obviously, but I know that things are a lot easier here for Tony and me because we don't have to hide who we are when we wear armor. We'd have a tough time of it, anyway, since we both showed up in armor, but... Well, I get where you're coming from, at least. Keeping identities a secret is something we do for a reason."

"Oh...right," he chuckles nervously, rubbing the back of his head in a very Adrien manoeuvre. "Then, I guess that would be okay. For her, I mean. Probably. And you know, that might help. She could use some girls her own age to talk to again."

He does what he can but he's not exactly equipped for teenage girl talk. He can barely handle teenage boy talk.

"Especially back home, where we had all the citizens of Paris to worry about too," and Papillon WAS a threat- though perhaps Pepper was right, perhaps everyone knowing would make that fight easier- if they ever had to have it. "I can ask Ladybug what she thinks about it, at least."

He'll stick to whatever her choice is, they may be partners, but she definitely holds the reigns the most.

"That I can do. Talking is one of my specialties," Pepper says, beaming. She's a bit older than Marinette, but only by a few years, and they've gotten along well enough in the past. A more concerted effort is apparently in order.

"It's up to you guys," she reminds Adrien. "If you want it to stay secret, it will, I promise. Just keep doing what you're doing - you're good at it, and your attitudes almost make up for the disguises, even here."

The two of them behaved differently as their superhero selves than as their normal selves, and clearly not everyone has figured out their identities yet despite the points Pepper has made. It will all work out, she's sure.

"Really, I never would have noticed."

A friendly jab, it's honestly a sign of trust that he can do those things around her. Let down those walls.

"You think so? Because I'm really starting to wonder on that one. It was much easier to hide back home in a big city full of French teenagers. Here? Less so. We kind of stick out, right?"

And yet a lot of people hadn't worked it out, by some miracle.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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

B

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject