[for Pepper] Down to Earth.

[notawastedlife]

It had been a hell of a day. It wasn't exactly over yet, and frankly he'd still be up there if Jarvis hadn't started harping on about the fact that he was running out of residual power and he'd left his arc reactor back with Pepper. Who was probably a little bit... there might be an issue there. Still, he couldn't have come running back immediately

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[wildlyconflictd]

After the second hour, Pepper had sent Peter home. It had taken some doing, but ultimately claiming that she wanted to be alone had convinced him, and wasn't that appropriate? Wasn't that what people requested when they were in mourning?

Be right back.

Tony hadn't been right back.

For awhile she'd waited, in the workshop and then on the front balcony, first with Peter and then without. She'd waited, time like a vise around her chest, every minute that ticked by tightening it just a little more. Stunned, powerless, she'd eventually wandered into Tony's bedroom, laid down atop the meticulously made bed and stared numbly at the wall.

"I'm not ready yet," she whispered, manicured fingers curling into the coverlet.

[notawastedlife]

He'd kind of thought she'd be on the balcony. That was how it was meant to work, wasn't it? He touched down, feeling slightly discouraged but waving it off, because, space station.

She wasn't immediately inside, either. He poked his head down the stairs to the workshop, then finally thought to ask Jarvis. He did not anticipate the answer. He pulled off his helmet and crossed to his room, opened the door, and stared at her.

"...hi?" he ventured. He'd found more than a few women in his room over the years. It had never felt quite this awkward.

[wildlyconflictd]

When the door had opened, Pepper had assumed it to be Peter. The sound of Tony's voiced startled her so much that she sat abruptly up and stared, a shock of red hair falling across her eyes. He was just standing there, in the damned suit, like it was normal.

How was this her life? How?

Before she quite knew what she was doing, Pepper had pushed herself to her feet, crossed to Tony and slapped him soundly across the face. Letting out a loud, frustrated cry, she battered her fists uselessly against the front of his armor and then stopped as abruptly as she'd begun, stepping back to fix him in a glare.

She felt marginally better.

[notawastedlife]

Also not the first time that had happened. Maybe he should have left the helmet on. Of course, then she might have done it anyway, and he'd be to blame for her hand, as well.

Just as he was about to put his hands up to try and stop the barrage, she stopped on her own, leaving him with his arms awkwardly halfway up.

"Are you- was that it?" he said, giving her a wincing look.

[wildlyconflictd]

"For now," Pepper replied and let out a huff that fluttered the hair across her eyes.

"I cannot believe that you did that. I- I cannot believe that you sat down there and listened to us say no, and did it anyway, and then you act like it's nothing! Be right back? It's been hours, Tony! Where did you go, the moon? I thought you were dead!" She clasped a hand against her chest. "I cannot take this! My body physically cannot take this much stress! I already worry about you constantly, and then you do this? Oh god," she moaned, and sunk down to sit on the edge of the bed. "I can't breathe. I'm hyperventilating."

[notawastedlife]

"It... worked out, I'm fine. I said I had it under control, I had it under control," he said. Admittedly the reactor not going critical would have been a better outcome, but he'd still anticipated events. The contingency had worked out.

In a... stranger and more interesting way than he'd intended.

"Breathe, Pepper. Do you have the arc reactor? I'd rather not have a heart attack while you're still angry with me."

[wildlyconflictd]

Quite possibly the only thing that Tony could do just then to upset her further would be die, so he had a fair point. Pepper pushed from the bed and then past him, down to her own room, where she'd left the reactor atop her dresser. She carried it hastily back to him and held it out. While she did not look happy, the good news was that she was neither hitting him nor having to breathe into a paper bag.

[notawastedlife]

"Thank you," Tony said, as much because she hadn't started hitting him again as for the arc reactor itself. He removed the cold fusion reactor, tossed it on the bed, and put the arc reactor back in his chest.

He couldn't help a wince. He probably technically couldn't feel the palladium start in again, but it felt like he could nonetheless. It might have been a nuclear explosion waiting to happen, but for that little while, his heart had been running on clean power.

Cleaner, anyway.

"Right," he said. "...I want to show you something. Not the moon."

[wildlyconflictd]

"…what?" Pepper slowly asked, her expression wary. Having been given a task, however small, something to get her moving, had made her feel a bit more like herself. It made her less likely to shout or want to hit him, but she still knew enough to be dubious.

And okay, maybe she still kind of wanted to hit him, even if the red mark on his cheek made her feel vaguely guilty.

[notawastedlife]

"I found something," he said. "It's a surprise. I have to fly you there, though. It's fine, we've done it before."

Well, it didn't have to be a surprise, but it just lacked the punch of actually being there if you just blurted it out.

[wildlyconflictd]

"No." Pepper crossed her arms over her chest, a veritable wall of discontent. "Absolutely not. The suit makes your condition worse."

[notawastedlife]

"I just spent a few hours with an alternative in my chest, I bought myself some time," he said. Not much, admittedly, but that wasn't the kind of thing you pointed out. "I'd rather not have to row you over there. A few minutes, that's all."

Just picking her up and taking off probably... no, he was going to go ahead and rule that out.

[wildlyconflictd]

"I cannot believe you," said Pepper, and while her tone was stern, if you knew her well enough-Which Tony obviously did-you'd easily note the resigned tilt of her mouth that signaled her assent. "I legitimately cannot believe you," she repeated with emphasis, mostly for the sake of her own pride, then turned and stalked back into her bedroom. She was gone long enough that for a moment it likely seemed-To the uninformed, of course-that she'd given her final word on the matter.

"For the record, I hate this, you know," she declared when she returned, sneakers on her feet and hair pulled back into a ponytail. "I hate all of this as a whole, but this specifically, being flown through the air, I hate. Hate, Tony."

[notawastedlife]

He put his hands together in what was nearly a clap as he waited, then immediately turned and headed for the balcony once she was back out.

"You... hate it? Hate's a strong word. You don't appreciate the miracle of human flight? Not... even a little?"

[wildlyconflictd]

"I get bugs in my hair. So no, not even a little," Pepper was quick to reply. "Right now, you need to be glad I'm not using the remote in my pocket to keep you grounded, and this- This whatever, it had better be spectacular. If it's not at least 2 carats, I'm kicking you in the shins."

[notawastedlife]

"I guarantee it is at least 2 carats," Tony said, stepping close and putting one metal-clad arm around her. "Metaphorically speaking. Now, hold on. I'll try to avoid bugs."