Pepper Potts (potts) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2017-05-06 21:42:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !complete, !completed gdoc, !log, [plot] barbarian!methos, ~2017 may, ~25 points, ~~dwight hendrickson (galvanized), ~~pepper potts (potts) |
WHO Pepper Potts + Dwight Hendrickson
WHAT Getting her home safe
WHEN After this & this
WHERE On the street -> Pepper's Place
WARNINGS Violence, death of a teen
STATUS Closed | Complete GDoc
Pepper was disoriented, in pain. Her clothing was in tatters because of Extremis, burned and singed around the edges. She'd broken a heel and pulled off her other shoe, but none of that had anything on the pain radiating from her shoulder. Methos' knife had gone deep and she'd already frantically called Steve. Tears streaked down her face, though they didn't last for very long because her skin was still hot, Extremis still there to defend her should her attacker choose to come back for her. He'd gotten some information out of her, but had that been all he wanted? She did her best not to think about anything else as she tried to find her way. Which street was she on, anyway?
A noise behind her startled her and she bolted, running without thought away from the noise. Her heart was pounding in her ears so she couldn't tell if anyone was following her. Pepper looked behind her only to run right into someone not even a moment later. It startled her so much that she screamed and took a step back, focusing Extremis in her hand, which she held out to defend herself. "Stay back or I'll hurt you again," she said, eyes wild and alight with the fire that Extremis burned within her.
***
A town with missing folks, including a kid, was something Dwight didn’t expect to jump into so quickly. He hardly knew the ones affected, didn’t know them from Adam, but he found himself alert and needing to be engaged. Without his arsenal or his truck, though, Dwight only had what he could get his hands on, which wasn’t much. Weapons weren’t always necessary, though. He was easily intimidating on his own, and could utilize force without breaking a sweat. The problem was, he didn’t know where to start. There seemed to be an able group already scouring, so Dwight had stayed back. He maintained a few positions around town should any of the missing be returned, or come home on their own.
He had just left his third post when he heard the hurried footsteps. Someone was definitely running, but not for sport. Pressing a hand against his chest, reminding himself the kevlar was in place, Dwight moved toward the running. Along the street, around a corner, and then collided with a solid mass of arms and legs. There was a slight burning sensation even through the kevlar, but not enough to cause alarm. He recognized the mess of blonde and the voice even through the distressed and startled tone.
“Hey! Pepper, stop. Hey, it’s me, okay? It’s Dwight.” Holding his hands up to both placate and protect, he took a step back himself at what he saw. Despite being around Troubles for a good part of his life, it still took a moment to adjust; to assess.
“I’m not going to hurt you, alright? Let's take a breather here, okay?”
***
It took an absurd, embarrassingly long few minutes for Pepper to process what he'd said, to recognize him. When she did, her gaze dropped to the mark she'd left behind on his vest and took a step back. She'd hurt him. She looked from that mark to her hand and willed herself to calm down. Dwight was safe, he wasn't going to hurt her. She didn't realize she was mumbling to herself, telling herself that, out loud.
It took another few minutes for the fire to leave her eyes but her skin lost it's glow more slowly. "Sorry," she gasped. "I'm sorry. I didn't- I thought you were him. I'm sorry. Are you hurt?" God, she'd hurt him. Pepper reached forward but aborted the movement, afraid he might recoil. She would've recoiled after what she'd done. She just wanted to go home. Why couldn't she just go home?
***
As she moved back, Dwight moved forward. His jacket slid off easily and he draped it over her shoulders. Even if it came out burned and blackened, it could be replaced. It wasn’t important. “No. No, I’m fine. Take a breath, alright? Take a breath and look at me.” One hand came to rest on the unmarred shoulder to keep her steady.
“What happened? Who is ‘him’?” He could feel his jaw tighten, doing his best not to go off into the night to find the unknown assailant. He wanted to know so that he could help, of course, but getting a moment to look her over, Dwight took in a deep breath to calm his own anger. Pulling off his jacket, he was quick to rip one arm loose. Using it, he set to work making a makeshift bandage around the wound. It was far from perfect, but hopefully it would help. The jacket was then draped against her shoulders.
“We should get that looked at,” he said, nodded to her injury. “What’s the quickest way to the clinic?” Or any doctor for that matter. He would help her to where she needed to go, carry her, whatever was needed. “Did whoever the ‘him’ is do this to you?” Referring to the red hot glow. He had to think back to how Audrey handled the Troubled folks. Even under duress, she did it so well. Dwight had been practicing, but sometimes it was harder than it really looked.
Now was one of those times.
***
Pepper did what he asked because it was easier to just listen. He wasn't going to hurt her. He was safe. She did startle a little when he put a jacket around her shoulders, but she steadied because he wasn't going to hurt her. He was safe. She focused on her breathing, focused on Dwight. He had nice eyes. Even when there was something there behind them she didn't fully understand, he had nice eyes.
"You have nice eyes," she told him. He needed to know that. Surely he knew that already? He wanted to know what happened, how he could help. "I don't need a doctor," Pepper replied, shaking her head. "Extremis heals me. I'll be- I'm fine. I broke my shoe." She had so few heels in Madison Valley. Her tastes were a little too expensive to have more than three.
"Methos attacked me. The one who took Molly. I- I stayed too late at work." Pepper had let her fighting skills slide. Natasha was going to be angry with her. She looked up at Dwight again, unaware about when her gaze had dropped to his chest again. She could have seriously injured him. "I want to go home." At least the tears gathering in her eyes didn't fall. "He killed Molly. I told Steve, but I-" She couldn't believe that he'd actually killed her.
***
Dwight grinned slightly at her comment, but didn’t verbally respond. He had never been good at taking compliments as he wasn’t one to get them often. Offering them up to others were more his forte. “They’ll look better when you’re home safe.” Even Dwight winced at that. Nathan would have done better, which was saying something.
He was gentle and slow in his movements as Dwight reached to pick Pepper up in his arms, but paused. He wasn’t sure exactly who Molly was, but that didn’t matter. The idea that this Methos would take his actions so far to injure anyone to the point of death? That was unacceptable. “...Are you sure?” He already knew the answer. “She’s fine. I’m sure she is. People like Methos? They...say things to get to you. I’m sure she’s fine.” He would try and reassure her, calm her the best he could, but even Dwight couldn’t believe his own words.
Moving once more to pick Pepper up into his arms, he held her close being mindful of her shoulder. Even if she was insisting that this Extremis would help her, she was in no shape to walk. He would insist if she protested. She was safer this way.
“You direct and we’ll get you home in no time. Sound good?”
***
Pepper just shook her head. "I told Molly's father," she admitted, still in anguish over having to make that call. She didn't fight him when he swept her up in his arms, her good arm naturally going around his neck, while her injured arm curled against her chest. When she said she wanted to go home, she meant her world, but that wasn't something anyone could help with. She didn't even bother trying to explain that to Dwight because he was trying so hard already. There wasn't any point in making things worse.
"Okay," she replied, turned to see where they were. Not too far actually from her apartment complex. "It's that way," Pepper told him, directing him toward the apartment complex most of the refugees ended up in to start with. She had a nice one bedroom, but she had only a few touches that personalized it, namely a wine rack and the artwork Neal had reproduced for her.
"Thank you." He didn't have to do this. There wasn't any reason why he should be doing this, taking care of her. Pepper knew she should be able to take care of herself but she'd messed that up. Now that she was safe, a lot of the adrenaline faded away, leaving her physically drained and mentally just exhausted. She barely had the energy and focus to guide him to her door, nor even to fish out her keys to hand to him, but she forced herself to do it. She'd do something right today, even if it didn't really matter.
***
Following her directions hadn’t been difficult. He took them well. Carrying her inside, Dwight made sure to drop the keys off in an open location for her to find later. Anything he could do to make things easier for Pepper later would be done. “You had to.” Although no one would ever want to make that kind of call. Dwight knew that feeling all too well.
It was only when they were inside that Dwight let her down, steadying her as he did. Having a similar apartment, finding the kitchen and returning with a glass of water wasn’t too hard. Handing it over to her, he kept a hand against her shoulder. “Do you want to sit? I think you should.” Though he asked, he was doing his best to insist.
“Let that redness die down a bit.” Would it? Dwight had no idea. He didn’t even know what it was or what it would do other than burn. “Are you sure Methos said he killed her?” He did not want to press that subject, but information could be misunderstood during dangerously intense situations as he was certain Pepper had endured. “He didn’t say something else?”
***
She had to. She knew that. Sitting down was probably a good idea. She'd let her bag and her shoes clatter to the floor once they'd gotten inside and then, once he'd set her down, she'd sort of just stood there, unblinking. Pepper didn't have any idea how long it had taken him to get her a glass of water, but she took it and let him guide her to the couch. She reached for his hand before he could move away, asking with just a look if he could stay.
"I just need to calm down," Pepper explained, setting the glass on the coffee table. She hadn't taken a sip of it, her hands shaking a bit too much for it. "It's- something like a fight or flight response to the virus. Extremis. It- Tony stabilized it for me, so I wouldn't explode. The others exploded." She hadn't had an episode since she'd first began her training to control it so that she wouldn't hurt anyone. "He told me he killed her. He said..." she trailed off as she tried to remember exactly what it was. "He said she was making too much of a fuss. That she was an example to the other two." Pepper didn't want to think about that. She didn't want to think about what Steve was doing at this very moment.
She lifted her gaze to look at him once more. "Why are you wearing a bulletproof vest?" It struck her now that it was odd. That was much better to focus on.
***
Dwight sat in silence, listening to her explanation. People exploding weren’t new to Dwight. It wasn’t always a pleasant thing to learn about, but it was an unfortunate Trouble that happened. Hearing about others exploding for other reasons? That was troubling. “It’s...a virus that makes you explode?” He winced. “Alright. Take a few more deep breaths. And drink the water.” He was wrapping his head around the whole thing. There was only so much that he wouldn’t be surprised by. Dwight tightened his hold of Pepper’s hand in his. Not tight enough to be painful, of course. Firm enough for her to know that he was still there and not going anywhere unless she wanted him to.
“That could mean a lot of things.” None of which were good, but perhaps better than death itself. “There could be that possibility.” They had to hold on to that even if the chances were slim to none. Dwight felt his chest tighten a little. He could only imagine what they were all going through at the very idea that something had happened to Molly. He thought of his own daughter. Those feelings of loss, confusion, anger, and dread.
Then she asked about his vest. The bulletproof vest. The one that had a burn mark in the middle. It would still work, of course, but there would be a mark to remind him of this night. Seeing this poor woman in such a state. He would find this Methos and have a few choice words for him. It was a good distraction for both of them, though. Something they both needed.
“It’s to protect me,” he began, clearing his throat to continue. “I’m Troubled. That’s what we call people who have strange powers and abilities in Haven. The town is full of folks with troubles. Mine can be...difficult in the right situation. I’m a bullet magnet, which means I try my best to stay clear of shooting ranges.” He tried to joke to lighten the mood. It usually helped in situations like this.
***
"It's not supposed to explode. Maya and Killian, they couldn't make it work." The more she talked, the more focused she became, so she just kept on talking. "Killian wanted to help people. I knew it was dangerous and I knew he was- off. I told him we couldn't invest in his research, but he was determined. Something Tony said- did- didn't do. I'm not sure, but he kidnapped me. He destroyed our home and blew Tony to Tennessee of all places and Killian injected me with Extremis to prove that he was better." She was just a trophy to him. And Tony, he'd come after her with everything he had. He'd tried so hard, did everything he could, but she'd still fallen right through his fingers. How had they gone from blowing up the suits on Christmas to not speaking?
Pepper drank down half the glass of water, squeezing his hand to keep him close. She just didn't want to feel alone. She'd been so, so alone lately. And now Steve would feel alone, too. The loss of a child wasn't something she could imagine, but she knew the ache in her heart that had been there since Howard and Andromeda had been taken back to wherever they were from. Why couldn't she be happy too? She couldn't dare to hope that Molly was alive, because what if she wasn't? So, when he started to explain the vest, it was easier to focus on him and she took the occasional sip from her glass until it was all gone. Then she set it on the coffee table and shifted to tuck her feet underneath her.
He was a bullet magnet. That was new. "That sounds terrible." The words were out before Pepper could stop them and she winced. "Sorry, that's not-" This time, her cheeks turned pink from embarrassment instead of Extremis. It had been exactly what she'd meant to say, but not how it should have been said. "It must be difficult, living with that."
***
As he had been doing, Dwight listened. It was one of the things he was particularly good at. While some of it didn’t make sense, that wasn’t what he was focused on. He could ask her more about the folks she was talking about when things calmed. For now, her talking was helping her, and that was what he had been focused on. That was what was important.
And then he laughed. He didn’t want to offend, but he couldn’t help it. “It’s okay. Once you get a handle on it, things could be worse.” He could have a virus in his body that could make him explode or burn through things. Dwight didn’t mention that, of course. He did not want Pepper to think he thought badly of her condition. He didn’t. He had an interest to learn more, but only when it was the right time. “It made military life interesting.” He fell silent, thinking back on Molly. Talking about him handling his Trouble was fine. Dwight had learned to joke when he could about it. It made life easier. But having the Trouble was terrible.
“But I’m still careful. You have to be.” He swallowed a particularly irritating itch in his throat. “My daughter--” Another pause, Dwight glancing down at nothing. “My daughter also had it.” He was tense, and it was obvious from the grip on Pepper’s hand. He quickly loosened his hold. “I’m sorry. Is your hand alright? Do you want more water?” He hadn’t let go of her hand just yet, and found himself letting his thumb rub idly against her knuckles. “Are you hungry? Can I get you anything?”
***
"Things could always be worse," Pepper agreed, still a bit shaken but ultimately feeling a little calmer. She was in a safe place with someone she trusted. It said a lot about their few interactions that she had instinctively trusted him in a fit of adrenaline and fear, but the gravity of that didn't really hit her at the moment. It was easier to focus on Dwight and she looked at him a little differently when he said he had a military career even though he was a bullet magnet.
At the thought that he might move away from her, Pepper's hand tightened around his, her eyes a little wide with just a touch of fear. "No," she said quickly. She wanted to keep talking to him, so she asked the thing that was on her mind. "I'm sorry your daughter isn't with you," she replied, not catching on that he'd used the past tense. "I can't-" She didn't want to talk about Molly anymore. She didn't want to think about it. Pepper rarely avoided something she knew she shouldn't, but this was different. This hurt.
So instead, she asked, "Why did you join the military?" She at least had the good sense not to include the part about his Trouble and how that was incredibly self sacrificing in a lot of ways.
Pepper tucked her legs up underneath her and turned to face Dwight a little more. It was then that she realized she still had his jacket and she tucked it around herself as an anchor to keep her in the present. Hopefully that was okay with him.
***
He didn’t mind. Not in the least. Jackets were replaceable. People weren’t. Dwight had learned that the hard way one too many times. He wasn’t about to let it happen again.
“I wanted to make a difference. Keep people safe. Fight with a sense of purpose and honor.” Because that was the kind of guy he was. He wanted to make sure that his daughter was raised in a free country without too much fear. He wanted to make her proud. He wanted to make a lot of people proud. “It was actually what triggered my Trouble. I spent a lot of time in the hospital, but I saved a lot of lives. And if I had to do it again? I would.” They were lines that Dwight was sure guys fed to women. Especially women like Pepper. Anything to impress her. Dwight was honest, though. It was dangerous, but that came with the territory. Much like being Chief of Police and part of The Guard.
“It’s crazy what you do for people when they need you the most. Even people you don’t know that well. I just don’t like seeing people hurt if it can be helped. And senseless violence?” Dwight just shook his head. “Too many times I’ve seen people suffer because of it.” Himself included. And now Pepper.
He was silent for a moment before continuing. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to stay. Keep an eye on things.” On Pepper.
***
Pepper felt herself relax a little more into the couch when he answered instead of making any sort of move to get up or leave. Dwight reminded her of Steve in a lot of ways with how he answered, and it surprised her now just as much as it had when she'd first met Captain Rogers. Those sort of men just didn't exist in the world she lived in, especially as a businesswoman in a male dominated industry. Even Clark had been more of a gentleman than she deserved after the kids had been sent back to their respective worlds. Most other men would've taken her up on her offer after the number of martinis she'd had.
"Your town is lucky to have you, and so are we." Who knows what would have happened if she hadn't run into him. Would she have made it home? Would she have ended up in the hospital like Clint? Pepper was lucky to have Extremis running through her veins and this was as good a wake up call as any that she needed to get more serious about her training. The thought of Dwight ending up in the hospital though scared the crap out of her and she didn't really grasp why. She just knew she was relieved when he asked to stay.
"I'd feel better if you did," Pepper admitted, in part because then she knew she'd be safe and in part because it would mean he wouldn't be out there, looking for Methos and potentially finding him. She tightened her grip on his hand. "I'm going to change out of these," she said after a moment, gesturing to her tattered clothes with her free hand, "but maybe we could watch something for a little while?" Or keep talking. Anything to keep her mind off of what had just happened.
***