Re: Pepper P/Tony S: in person
[Rubbing his face, mostly so he doesn't have to look at her, because he knows she's just being honest.] I have to answer. I literally have to. Can't say no. You understand that, don't you? [Faintly anxious sideways look. He remembers the argument they had in his Malibu lab, years ago now, when she almost told him to take his hero complex and fuck off. He hadn't exactly blamed her.]