Sophia Warren (twostepsahead) wrote in doorslogs, @ 2012-05-02 01:13:00 |
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Entry tags: | door: marvel comics, pepper potts |
WHO Pepper Potts
WHAT The most depressing birthday ever OR A trip down Memory Lane
WHEN May 2
WHERE Stark Tower, NY -> Passages -> Her apartment in Malibu
WARNINGS None.
She thought about giving the day to Felicia but in the end, she wanted to keep her memories to herself and if she was through the door, there was less of a chance of the other woman gaining more ammunition for arguing with Mr. Stark. The last thing she needed now was for Felicia to get it in her head that lecturing him would be useful in any way and she knew her Vegas counterpart had quite a bit on her plate as it was. That was a problem she’d tackle when it started to affect her time here. Her usual work consumed her morning, phone calls to her various government contacts to cement a relationship that would benefit them in the future, a meeting with the Stark Industry Board of Directors, a teleconference with the VPs, and a nice chat with the director of Human Resources as well, not to mention the dozens of press releases that needed a cursory glance and a ridiculous number of charts, graphs, and reports to wade through. At noon, she gave up. She excused herself from the phone call she was on, turned off her computer, gathered her things, and left without a word. She crossed into Las Vegas, turned around, and walked right back through. This time, Pepper found herself in Malibu. Not Mr. Stark’s house, but her own apartment. It was fifteen and a half minutes exactly from her front door to Mr. Stark’s at 5:30am when she went in to work and seventeen minutes exactly when she returned home anywhere between 7pm and 12am. She had begun renting this particular apartment four years ago, cutting her commute by almost twenty minutes. Of course, she had access to a room at Mr. Stark’s house if she felt the need, but she had only taken up that offer for two and a half months and she vowed to never stay the night again after he came home. Her apartment was quiet, clean, and it hardly seemed like someone lived there. The door opened up to the main room, which held the living space and kitchen area that were separated by a white counter top. The walls were a delicate cream color that could’ve been almost white if not for the bright white couch and armchair she had centered around a modern looking glass coffee table. A Thomas Kinkade seascape was hung behind the armchair and instead of facing the opposite wall (and a TV that wasn’t there), the seating area faced her balcony. The first thing she did after slipping off her shoes was to pull back the curtains, revealing the view of the ocean before her. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, indicating that someone was calling her, but she didn’t care. It could wait until tomorrow, when she was focused. The small square of technology went on her counter after being turned on silent, save for if Mr. Stark texted or called. She didn’t think he’d bother with another argument at the moment and she wasn’t in the mood to pretend that she didn’t care about him as much as she did. She found herself hoping he’d forget her birthday as usual and spend the day immersed in whatever tech project he had going on. Their last conversation played over and over in her mind, each time making the pain just a little bit worse. Try as she might, she couldn’t forget the question he posed to her. Would Thor save Tony over his brother if it came down to it? She didn’t think so, not with how things had gone that day in her office. The two of them just didn’t trust each other and although she knew Thor had a very strong moral center, she had a feeling he still thought his brother could be saved. She could understand that, support it even. If anything happened to Mr. Stark, she wasn’t sure how far she’d go to to get him back. “That’s not true.” Pepper knew how far she was willing to go. That was why she hated her birthday, not that she’d ever let on about that. It was hard for her to forget those three months, but she didn’t talk about it to anyone. She couldn’t. She didn’t trust anyone enough to talk to them about it, and she resolutely would not bring it up with him because what he had been through was far worse than her worry and anxiety. The debacle with Obadiah had distracted her quite thoroughly as well, and that helped. Work had helped her cope while Tony was kidnapped and it helped her focus again once he came home. She’d worked day and night, doing her best to provide support for Jim, aiding in a rescue effort. At first it was easy to believe that he was still alive, that he could survive whatever happened, but after six weeks it got progressively harder. She’d refused to give up hope, clung to it as she buried herself in the luxurious fabrics of the bed she’d claimed as hers in his house. She would’ve spent every penny she had trying to get him back and if that wasn’t enough, she would’ve tried to get there to look for him herself. At least, that’s what she told herself. It had been easy to realize then that she cared about him. Absence makes the heart grow fonder after all, right? But once he’d returned it was back to business. It started with a press conference and it all went downhill from there. She opened a bottle of wine as the memories started to come back to her. Changing his arc reactor and having it put in a display case for him; the benefit and subsequent almost kiss that left her standing on the balcony, waiting for him to come back like some sappy girl while he went off to Gulmira and got shot at; catching him trying to get out of the suit and the overwhelming emotions that inspired; the conversation in his workshop where she almost walked out. Her life came pretty damn close to revolving around him. She’d do anything for him. What were a few cuts and bruises? Life threatening situations? Blowing up the arc reactor at Stark Industries hadn’t been too bad. Becoming CEO had been stressful and all the more difficult thanks to his erratic behavior, but she’d managed for a week. Watching Tony get attacked in Monaco, coming to his aid? That one had been harder only because she’d been afraid they wouldn’t get there in time. And then the slew of bad decisions he made because he’d been dying and refused to trust her with that information. That hurt the most in some ways. And then he went and rescued her from the Expo, kissed her, quite a few times, and they’d been about to discuss the feasibility of a relationship when she ended up in Felicia’s head. Wine was definitely a good idea. It probably wouldn’t hurt to talk to someone either, but besides Natasha (who was the closest person to a friend she had), who else did she have that was here? No one. She didn’t have anyone. Pepper wasn’t even entirely sure she had Tony, whatever that meant. There was Thor, of course, but in the same way there was Captain Rogers or Doctor Banner. She couldn’t burden any of them though, not when their problems were infinitely more important. The thought of it was laughable and that was exactly what she did; she laughed, because she sure as hell wasn’t going to cry. “This is ridiculous,” she muttered to herself as she finished off her glass and poured another. Pepper was calm, cool, and collected, not emotional or argumentative. She was a supporting figure for Tony, someone to take care of him after he went off to save the world. An employee. She had to get over this bullshit and fast before things got worse. She eyed the bottle of wine. “After I finish this. Then I’ll get over it,” Pepper promised herself. It was late afternoon now, nearly dinner time, but she didn’t care. A bottle of wine, a nice soak in the tub, and then sleep. She’d be right as rain in the morning. Maybe. She eyed her phone. If she didn’t make any stupid decisions, she’d be fine. It was just a matter of deciding if she wanted to do something stupid or not. |