[ and to suffer all your pride, as I lay down by your side ]

[behisgirlfriday]

WHO: thelaughingmage and behisgirlfriday
WHAT: Pepper has her semi-annual breakdown. John runs interference.
WHERE: The Willows
WHEN: Shortly after John was dumped back home and Betsy put his head back together
WARNINGS: John Constantine is in this log.

Comments

[thelaughingmage]

"'S open."

John had been replaying the past week's encounters with Stark and company over again himself, both on his phone and in his head. Stark had answered a number of questions and dropped something significant in their laps, and it hadn't been on accident. The man could talk his way around the place almost as well as John himself. He could feel the implications in his water, but some of the nuances were going to take time to unravel.

He trusted Pepper's instincts, come to that; she'd proven more than once how sharp they were, especially in regards to Stark. He'd reviewed her follow-up more than once as well.

In fact, it was open on his phone when he set it aside, as Pepper swanned in with her load. "You're a pearl, luv." He moved some books aside to make room for the tray on the bed. Two mugs and brandy. She was planning to stick around. He smiled at her and played his role with a will. "Take a seat, if you've got a minute, and keep me company for a bit."

[behisgirlfriday]

"If you insist," Pepper said, as if she hadn't had every intention of staying. She pulled up a chair by his bed, pouring the tea. It was funny, really---a year ago, she had only drank coffee. She was switching her coffee out with tea more and more often now, she reflected. John had far worse habits that she could have picked up instead, so she'd gotten off easy.

"You look like hell," she said, sounding almost fond. Pepper handed him his tea. "Worse than you did last time you had a sleepover with the capekillers. You just can't keep out of the middle of it all, can you?"

[thelaughingmage]

"The middle's where everything's happening, innit?" He cradled the tea against his diaphragm; the warmth felt good on sore muscles. "Wouldn't do to get bored. I hear idle hands do the devil's work."

He doubted he was protecting her in any real way with the smart lines, but then he thought she might've hit him if she thought that's what he was after at any rate. It was an accord he'd long ago reached with most of the non-occultists in his life: they mostly didn't want to know, and he mostly didn't tell them unless they asked straight-out.

He studied her in turn. "And you're looking sleepless. How're you weathering the tempest?"

[behisgirlfriday]

"I'm fine," Pepper said. Given the way she was pouring bourbon in her drink, she was clearly lying. She rested the full cup on her thigh, tucking her hair back with her free hand. It was getting long---curling past her shoulders for he first time in years. Pepper had meant to get her hair cut, but she kept putting it off. Something always came up, be it a stockholders meeting or a near brush with the end of the world. As usual, taking care of herself was forgotten when everything else needed to be taken care of.

When she was stressed, she cleaned like a maniac and overworked herself across the board. But when she was truly upset, she lost her ability to juggle everything. She didn't sleep, she didn't eat---all she did was work and mourn the loss of her normalcy.

"With the last two weeks we've had here, I don't think anyone has gotten a decent night's sleep," she added, wrapping her small hands around her mug.