Pepper is up and halfway to her room when she stops. This feels like running. She's exhausted and upset, and her mind is a tangle, at the center of which is Gene.

She doesn't like it, and she's not sure she likes Gene very much right now either. But if it feels like running, it probably looks like running, and she doesn't want to leave that impression.

"Goodnight, Gene," Pepper says quietly, almost gently, and then heads straight for her bed, closing the door behind her.