# this is my Evil Tony distinction for possible narrative confusion
Since they started talking again, which was in ways a relief and in others an extra frustration, it hadn't taken much of a commitment from Tony to convince Pepper to stay late. As long as he was still at the office, she was a magician pulling all manner of excuses out of her hat to stay with him, and he hadn't gotten in her way. There was a lot to do and every day he made more work for both of them, after all, until he could restructure this company to run itself more efficiently.
This particular evening Tony had a number of excuses himself, looking very intent and apologetic and exhausted whenever Pepper breezed in, pathetic enough for soft words and promises that it would all still be there tomorrow before she stepped out again to worry about him running himself ragged right next door. Truth was, he was wired and hardly overwhelmed-- in fact, he was feeling better than ever. Eventually, though, Happy would call it quits, and most of the office would go dark, and the sun would slowly set and leave Tony sitting alone with the glow of his screens and the twinkle of the city in the distance. If he listened carefully, with his office door cracked open, he was sure he could hear Pepper typing away.
He appeared at her door, shirtsleeves rolled up and dark stubble growing in along his jawline and looking all the world like a vision from the past with a bottle of champagne held against his hip. Before Pepper could start clenching her fists, he held up a finger to pause the scene, then flipped his hand to show that he only carried one glass. Of course he wasn't drinking, that would be ridiculous. "I thought someone should celebrate," he explained himself, skipping ahead a few scenes as he sidled into Pepper's office and pushed the glass onto her desk. "I mean, who better than you for doing all of the work?" he added as he expertly popped the bottle open, not even spilling a drop on her carpet or shattering anything expensive as the cork bounced off of the wall. "You just helped Stark Enterprises break a really outlandish record."