"NASA?" Pepper laughed, her bowl following his into the trash. "Where on earth did they get that impression?" She tried to imagine Phil as an astronaut, but couldn't - and it wasn't as though they lived in Ft. Worth. "You know you can buy some pre-packaged astronaut food; ice cream, in particular. Novelty shops - probably more online."
Listening to him explain the downfall of living alone, Pepper could easily sympathize. Solitude was only one of many reasons she spent so much time at work, where she was still mostly alone - with only Tony somewhere in the house at a remote distance - but at least he was there.
A bird fluttered it's wings in her chest very briefly when he took her hand, but Pepper closed her fingers around his and it cautiously settled. "I grew up in a house with nine people," she said quietly. "And then it was just my brother and I, and when he was gone - he was sick for a long time before he died, and the friends I'd had were mostly gone, and I was moving to New York, so... my job took the place of everything else." She'd lost a lot when she'd lost Jamie.
"I do have friends... a few. And I've dated. It just gets very complicated." Pepper exhaled. "You should get fish. I have fish. Not that you shouldn't socialize," she grinned, eyes widening. "I'm not trying to... I just mean... fish have automatic feeders, they don't care if you don't come home for a few days or if you're out late, and they're someone to talk to. Also - pretty."