That was more charming than she had been for weeks, inviting Tony to drift closer and lean on his desk just beside her, watching with a thoughtful distance as he raised a hand to pass down the length of her forearm, touching air until he stretched his curled fingers and brushed her wrist. It was soft and contemplative like he considered what he should have been telling her, though he never meant to and only watched for a response, wondering if he touched her that she would have all of the secrets and sensitivities that he was familiar with. "I know what I have to do. I promise," he came up with, meeting her eye again with a certain danger in his, like he dared her to deny him that nobility. "Everything's going to be fine. Better than ever." Lifting his hand again, this time to gently reset a strand of hair that barely escaped Pepper's ever elegant up-do, then hesitate like he might pull it all down instead before dropping, he added, "I gotta have you on my side, you know. I can't do it without you."