[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]

"I'm also sorry... you hit me," he said, rubbing one eyebrow with a finger. "No, I mean, I didn't want to worry you. But you worried. So that... didn't work. You're still angry?"

Should he have expected that? He should have expected that. He'd kind of expected the space station to dilute it down, though. Then again, he hadn't expected crying. He might have rethought it if he'd known about the crying that wasn't... something he wanted to cause.

[wildlyconflictd]

"Yes, I am," Pepper replied. She was calm, subdued even, which didn't lend much support to what she was saying, but she was fully capable of being angry at him later in a more appropriate moment. "You do realize I thought I'd never see you again. I thought to myself, this is it. I have finally figured out that I love this man, and now he's gone before we even did anything about it. He's my best friend and he's dead. That isn't something I can shake off in a matter of minutes, I'm not equipped for it."

[notawastedlife]

"In my defence, I did say I was coming back," he said, keeping a light edge on his voice. Who knew, not having people trust in you came around and caused trouble later on. Hard one to fix, really, because you sort of needed them to, in order to demonstrate that hey, you did know what you were doing. "You think I'd let a little thing like a nuclear explosion -- which didn't happen, by the way, I did actually have that completely in hand -- keep me away now that you finally agreed to go out with me?"

[wildlyconflictd]

Pepper cut him a wry sideways glance. "You have to ask me out before that actually happens, you know," she pointed out. They'd agreed on slow-Crawling, really-but New Year's Eve had kind of shot that plan to hell. "Maybe I should just ask you instead."

[notawastedlife]

"...I was kind of figuring this was a date," Tony said, gesturing with one arm around him. He wasn't entirely serious, that hadn't been on his mind when he'd told her to come with him, he'd just wanted to share it, but when he thought about it, it kind of worked. "We went for a ride, I took you to this great place I know, we're taking in the view... I should've packed a meal."

[wildlyconflictd]

"In the future, you might want to mention that's what it is ahead of time," replied Pepper, turning her full attention to Tony. "Also, this-" She flicked a finger toward the suit. "I know some women are turned on by that sort of thing, but it doesn't exactly make you approachable."

Pausing, she held his gaze. "But you do get extra points for the venue," she added, quieter. "Thank you for bringing me here. It's…spectacular."

[notawastedlife]

"No one I'd rather bring," he said, with a small shrug and the slightest of self-deprecating smiles. "...hey, does that mean you won't be helping me out of the suit?"

[wildlyconflictd]

"I think that depends on what you do from here on out," Pepper apprised him with an arch of her eyebrows. "And what you plan to do once you're out of it."

[notawastedlife]

Tony coughed, slightly. Still not used to that.

"What I plan to do, once I'm out of it, is... well, I was going to grab some equipment and come... back here," he said, looking at the ceiling and then glancing down at Pepper to see how this went over.

[wildlyconflictd]

"Wow, Tony. You really know how to make a girl feel valued," Pepper replied, a little bitterness creeping into her sarcastic tone there at the end. She turned away back to the window, her ponytail swishing over her shoulder.

"Get Peter to help you out of the suit. I can't do this anymore today."

Was she really up there because he wanted to share it with her, or because it just made for a better excuse, an easier way out of what he had done with the reactor? Peter had chastised her for not holding Tony more accountable for his actions, and he'd been right. Surely that applied just as much to how Tony treated her. Ironically enough, she recalled Obediah telling her that Tony didn't know how lucky he was.

Well, wasn't that just the understatement of the century?

[notawastedlife]

That could have gone... better. As a whole. He could have handled that better. He'd been doing pretty well, he thought, just couldn't stick the landing.

"Hey, that's- I don't think that's fair," he said. "This isn't- I can't ignore this. This is pretty big. You have to recognize some of the implications. I'll make some time, just not- it can't be right now."

[wildlyconflictd]

"I think you're mistaking can't for won't," said Pepper, keeping her gaze firmly ahead. If she looked at him, he'd give her that damned puppy-eyed face, and she'd cave. No way. "And quite honestly, I don't care whether you think it's fair or not. You used up your share of fairness back in September."

[notawastedlife]

"...okay, maybe I did. No, I did," he said. "Won't, then. You want me to ignore that there's a space station filled with experimental physics equipment and some rather significant spacetime manipulation abilities hanging over our heads, so I can pursue my personal life? That- don't get me wrong, I want to pursue it, but that seems like it's going backwards, as far as priorities are concerned."

[wildlyconflictd]

"No, Tony," Pepper snapped, and damn it, she was looking at him now anyway, frustrated enough that she couldn't help herself. "I want you to act, just a little, as if you actually care about how I feel, ever. I want you to care enough about me to actually pay attention to something other than yourself for more than five seconds at a time. That is what I want."

The view and the experience that came with it was ruined, and she pushed herself abruptly to her feet. "You know what? Fine. You want to be here, you stay here. I'll swim home."

[notawastedlife]

"That's what I-" he said, then stopped, wondering if he should just quit while he was ahead. He stood up, anyway. "You can't swim home," he said, in lieu of another attempt to placate her.

Probably... the wrong way to think about it. This was something other than him, though, this was everyone, wasn't that the point?

Well, maybe not when it came to a discussion specifically about Pepper and his relationship with such. There was that.