The Immovable Toph versus The Unstoppable Pepper Potts

The Immovable Toph versus The Unstoppable Pepper Potts
Date of Scene:	24 September 2013
Location:	New York-199999
Synopsis:	Pepper decides to tackle a problem head on. That problem is Toph's pretty lackluster idea of hygiene.
Cast of Characters:	20, 204, 301

---

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
Brush? Check. Comb? Check. No-tangle kid's all-in-one shampoo-conditioner-bodywash said to smell like 'grass'? Check. Big, fluffy, brown towel with T O P H rendered in colorful dots of extra fibre? Check. Collection of facecloths, a back scrubber and bath poof? Check. Retrofitted pebble-tiled shower basin? Emergency build check. Comfortable, mild pre-setting on the computer-controlled shower in the guest room? Check. Consolation ice cream in the freezer in case things go all Costa Rica?

        Double check.

        Potts was a woman on a mission. She thought of all the times that she was courageous, that she was the /text book/ example of such. Standing up to her desires to pursue business instead of mere secretarial work. All the times she told Stark 'no, you cannot have those three women at one time, you are on the clock', facing down Stane, and Hammer, and all the times she has grabbed gods by their ears...

        So what in the world made her so nervous about getting a twelve-year-old to take a shower?

        Not even Potts could answer that one.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"Aww, that's so cute," Tony remarks from the doorway behind the woman on a mission. "It's like you're adopting her or something." He strolls into the guest bath to finger the towel, and makes a little pouty face. "How come you don't go to these kind of lengths to get ME to shower? And don't think I didn't notice the ice cream. I know it's not your time of the month, so I can only assume this is part of your plot. Hey, maybe /I'd/ like post-bathtime ice cream too, did you ever think of that?"

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
        Potts jumps as Tony speaks up, and she blinks as he walks through the room. And then she eyenarrows and her lips purse softly. She ties her hair back and she shakes her head "I can get ice cream any time of the month I like, thanks. And for that comment, you're not getting post-bathtime /anything/. For at /least/ a month."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"Oh come on, what?" Tony protests, dropping the towel to spread his hands in innocent protest. "What'd I say? Potts, am I ever ANYTHING but considerate when you're having... ice cream times?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
        Malibu isn't all that bad. There's lots of sun, and even if the earth here is different, it's still fun to bend. So Toph decided to stick around after her lesson for the day, finding herself a spot outside on the beach. Sandbending is still something she needs to work on, so here she is. Some of her clothes are taken off, and the blind girl moves around in just a top and her pants. Her belt and bracers are off, and she seems to be busy in a series of earthbending movements, a look of concentration on her face.

        At least she's fully visible from the living room, and well... perhaps the inhabitants of the house have gotten somewhat used to the blind girl sticking around.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
        "/Tony/!" Potts states, and she takes up the towel, and rolls it extra neatly back up to set on the bed.

        "This... isn't just about the bath thing. Toph doesn't really have a place to be, or responsible, supportive adult role models... and... let's face it."

        Pott's nose gives a wrinkle. "She /needs/ to bathe, but it's a sensitive subject for /most/ girls. So I thought I'd handle it, girl-on-girl, rather than having someone just bluntly out and say it. It's unhygienic. She could get sick, or develop sores."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"I'm not a responsible and supportive adult role model?" Tony retorts swiftly, going from 'shit was that joke in THAT poor taste?' to 'whoa hold on a minute here' in one second flat. "I AM her supervising officer, you know. AND she thinks I'm cool. It's a win-win."

As far as girl-on-girl, well, ask him about THAT topic most of the time and he'll tell you he's all for it. This time, he's visibly biting his lip not to say any of the multitude of quips that spring to mind.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
        "I was counting you among the--" Potts begins... and then when Stark bites his lip, visibly having to restrain himself from talking. Potts just rolls her eyes, and breezes past him, heading back towards the living room. "Jarvis, is Miss Beifong still on the property?

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"Among the what?" Tony presses, scuffling after in Pepper's wake. "Come on, what is it? I say something, I'm the bad guy. I DON'T say anything, I'm still the bad guy? That's not fair, Potts. That's a double standard and I..." he strains for an appropriately cutting riposte, and ends up with, "and I object." Brilliant. He stoops to scoop up Buster as Pepper's passing flushes him from his spot on the couch.
<br"Miss Beifong is currently practicing her 'sandbending' on the beach," Jarvis replies primly.

"Fine, I see how it is," Tony tosses off as if he doesn't even care anymore. "You go on, have your girl time. While you're at it you can ask her how she likes that Braille reading glove I made for her." Because he's so supportive and responsible.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
        The earthbender is still on the property all right, which should be evident as a rumble can be heard from the beach, followed by a loud 'woohoo'. No, the beach isn't ruined. But anybody who looks out of the window can see that Toph has made /something/ there. Sand has somewhat become more rock like, though it's still crumbling in places. She doesn't hesitate however, as she continues raising more pillars, trying to create them with various details on them. This is so much more fun than reading!

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
        "Among the responsible ones. You /are/ someone she admires a lot. She's fortunate to have your support because I'm decently sure that there's only one person she likes more than you, and that's herself." Potts states as she crosses her arms, and she watches Toph for a while. She purses her arms. "You /are/ the good guy."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"Despite my many faults," Tony agrees, sidles up behind Potts and shifts Buster to his left arm so he can slip the right around Pepper's waist for a quick squeeze. "The... hell is she making?" he wonders as his gaze goes past his girlfriend to the scene on the beach below.

"Right, well. You two have your... girl time, and then maybe we can go somewhere fun for dinner if you can get her to wear a pair of sandals."

And either way, "And then maybe you can have YOUR post bathtime ice cream," he eyebrow-waggles lasciviously and lets his hand slip down to teasingly pinch his girlfriend's bottom.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
        Just what is Toph making? For now it looks like pillars of some kind. The young girl takes deep breaths, moving her arms down, then up as the pillars rise. A kick to the ground sinks them easily again, and Toph stomps around, feeling the sand between her toes. It's slowly getting easier to pinpoint where things are in the sand, though she will still need more practice. Perhaps she should head back to Njorun in a bit so she can continue practicing her study on the metals she has.

        Damn, she's got far too much to do! Learning braille, sandbending, metalbending... Either way, the sandbending is done for now, so she slowly raises her arms, then brings them both abruptly down, causing the pillars to disintegrate back into sand and fall back onto the beach. Satisfied that nobody will complain about her not cleaning up after herself, the young earthbender turns, heading back to the house and picking up the rest of her clothes with her.

        And perhaps to Pepper's annoyance, she /does/ track a fair amount of sand with her inside. "I'm getting better at it!" she proclaims proudly, noticing that Pepper and Tony both are there by the window.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"So I see!" Tony replies cheerfully, turning away from the window and his inappropriate touching to shift Buster back into both arms and give the beast the proper butt support. "Those pillars practically looked like rock, from here. So hey, listen -- before you go. I think Pepper has something for you. I don't know the details, she said it was a girl thing." There, that should absolve him of any responsibility for this travesty in Toph's... eyes. "C'mon Buster," he chirps cheerfully, "let's get out of the womenfolk's way." Flashing Pepper a mischievous grin he traipses off toward his workshop.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
        There are times when Pepper loves Tony.

        And then there are times when she wants to use repulsar tech to re-launch him into a wormhole. This is one of those latter times.

        Potts looks at the trail of sand following the Earthbender, and steels herself for the worst.

        "Miss Beifong, would you please have a seat." she states, quite professionally, sternly, and using the don't-you-argue-with-me voice that she usually reserves for Tony... or the Hulk.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony catches that tone as he's escaping into his basement sanctum and winces. Man, he's glad he's not the one getting a bath. Good thing Pepper isn't mad at him!

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
        "It's all a matter of figuring out how to alter their composition to earth or rock. With training I should be able to sandbend as easily as I earthbend, they are really similar after all," Toph grins, looking mighty pleased with herself.

        She blinks though when Tony states that Pepper has something for her. "Huh? Girl thing?" The girl looks a bit surprised as she works on putting her bracers back on even as Tony takes his leave. Oh well, perhaps she can play with Buster some later. And she guesses she will have to head back to Njorun /after/ Pepper has spoken her mind.

        Though when she does, Toph can't help but notice how much that tone reminds her of the tone her father had with her at times. The request for her to sit makes Toph blink, though she does as bidden, flopping down onto the couch as she puts on her top tunica, all before she reaches for her belt. "I told you, call me Toph. You're not like Jarvis and unable to relax, right?" Tony calls her Toph, so of course his girlfriend should call her by her name too, right? "But yeah, whassup?" Girl thing?

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
        Pepper had this huge big, sensitive talk planned... but she decides that Toph isn't going to be sensitive right back. So she dives to the heart of the manner.

        "Toph. You need to bathe, regularly. It's hygienic, and I think it's going to help more in the long run if we have this talk now." she states, plainly, but not without care in her voice. And it's not that she wants to 'help' or 'clean up after' Toph. She wants Toph to be able to do it herself. "I understand that you're sensitive to being out of contact with the ground, and I would like to show you something that I think might help."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
There is a faint bass thumping from the basement as Tony hides from all of this.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
        ... oh hell no.

        Those pale, green eyes of the little girl widens when the 'b' word is mentioned, and she freezes up where she sits. Sure, she will wash her hands and wipe her feet on the welcome matt. But bathing? On a regular basis? "I wash myself on a regular basis," Toph protests. Even if it's not every day or every week, she does wash!

        On occasion.

        "I'm /not/ jumping into the pool yet," she declares right after. "And this is a healthy coating of earth, really!" This is demonstrated as she hits her chest. Which causes sand and dust to whirl up. "Just give me a washcloth and I'll clean up the worst parts. It's not like I'm going to any fancy places anymore, anyway."

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
        Potts watches as the dust wells up. And falls. She she sets her mouth in a grim, determined line.

        It. Is. On. The Immovable Toph vs. The Unstoppable Pepper Potts.

        However, she keeps her cool. "I'm not asking you to jump into any pool. I'm not even asking you to sit in a tub. We have showers. It's like... being under a rainfall. You're standing, you're in full contact with your feet on the ground, and you can control the temperature just by asking it to be hotter or colder."

        "And... as for fancy places, Tony might ask you to demonstrate the glove at events." she states, plainly. "Now, I'd like to show you the shower I had altered for you, instead of it being smooth at the bottom, it has pebbles in its tiles. I thought it was /very/ novel, and gives extra grip." she explains. And she takes a breath.

        "I'd like you to just give it a try. Once every other day. You can use the one here, Because you might not be able to see it, but I can tell where you've been in the house by your footprints, buttprints, handprints, and on occasion, forehead prints."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
But not floury pawprints. Those were Tony's fault.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
Potts generally assumes any other prints are Tony's fault by de-fault.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
        "Showers...?" Toph blinks. They have spring showers where she lives too! It's just that most people don't clean themselves in the rain. But to hear that she doesn't expect her to sit in a tub, that seems to ease that disapproving look on the girl's face. And huh? "Demonstrate the glove? Why would I need to dress up for /that/?" Still, she sighs.

        Well, there might not be any harm in seeing the shower. So Toph bites on the inside of her lower lip, all before she takes a deep breath. And exhales, slowly. "I make no promises. But show me this... shower." If Pepper had altered whatever it is for her, she can at least check it out.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
        Pepper eases, and she draws upwards. "All right. C'mon, I had one of the guest baths altered for you." she repeats (guilt guilt guilt), and she stands up and strides away. Toph may notice that Pepper's so used to heels that she even walks daintily, on tip-toes without even realizing it.

        They go down, and Pepper strides in, plucking the basket from the bed (and checking it for Buster) before setting it inside the bathroom, a fancy affair with warm tile floors, and a slightly sunken area, divided by a half-wall from the rest of the bathroom. There's a pebbly 'shower mat' outside it to denote where the entry point is, though, Potts reasons, the tile probably offers enough of 'sight' for Toph. "All right. Over here is the shower area. There are knobs you can fiddle with to fine-tune, but I have it set at a mild temperature. You can make it warmer by saying 'warmer', colder likewise." Pots says, and she leans over it. "Go ahead in here, and just feel the texture inside the shower. I promise, it won't turn on."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Buster is not in the basket. He is curled up on the hood of Tony's hot rod while his daddy tinkers away, happily oblivious to girl time.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
        It's easily enough for Toph to recognize the way people walk. That and their voices are the best ways for her to tell people apart. And Pepper is no exception. Another sigh leaves Toph, and she rises to follow Pepper. One of the guest baths, huh?

        So this is the bathroom, huh? Toph sniffs the air as she walks in. Even if the tile isn't her preferred material, it is easier to see with than many other building elements of a house. So the blind girl cautiously steps forward, her hand resting on the half wall. "How /do/ you turn it on?" Toph asks, not stepping in just yet. She can somewhat sense the structure here. Her feet feel the pebbly texture underneath her feet, and she can't help but look slightly worried about all of this.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
        The window to the bathroom was open; it smelled like the beach. Like someone in the distance may be having a barbeque. Like clean porcelain and something that smells a bit like how grass would taste if it was a candy. A sweet smell.

        Pepper rubs the back of her head as she looks up at the sensors around. "Ah... you ask Jarvis to turn this one on. It's not because It'd be in really poor taste to scare you by turning it on." she states, and she takes a breath.

        "Like the Braille. I'm willing to take this one step at a time," she explains, "because it's new, and it's all right to be nervous about it. So until I give the release command, the shower won't run water. I wanted you to just step inside of it and feel the texture of the floor before that.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
        Sure, it smells nice. But still, this is completely new to Toph. And even if she isn't a wimp, she's still not too used to various parts of more modern lives than the one she's been living so far. "Oh, you know that if you were to try to scare me, I'd show you what I consider to be dirty!" Hesitantly, the blind girl steps into the shower area, all the time keeping a hand on the half wall, her other hand reaching out to touch the wall. Her feet move out to toe at the floor, feeling the tiles there. "This is so /weird/..." she states firmly, frowning just slightly where she stands, her fingers taking in the small shower area.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
        "... why is it weird?" Pepper asks. She had stone tile put in, the pebbly texture altered to give more traction and more of a 'stone feel', and tried her best to make everything satisfactory. She wasn't overwhelmed with anything here... just sort of ... regular whelmed. "Well... can I do anything to make it... less weird?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
        Slowly, Toph shakes her head, crouching down to run her hand across the floor tiles. "Not really... I'm just not too used to rooms like this just yet. Especially not with tubs or... showers." After a brief inspection, she rises up to her feet. "Maybe you could turn it on while I'm not in here so I could get an idea on how it works?" she suggests.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
        While her clothes are -- this is a girl who willingly rolls around in dirt. This is a girl who flings giant balls of rock at people for defense. This is a girl who will walk, barefoot, through Malibu.

        "Jarvis, release the lock on Toph's shower."

        "The lock has been released, Miss Potts." comes Jarvis's reply.

        "Now, all you have to do to turn on the water is 'shower on' while your weight's on the inside of the--"

        And if Toph is still on the pebbled stone, the shower would indeed, turn on. It's a mild temperature, warm enough to be comfortable, not warm enough to be considered 'hot'.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
        Hey, don't go comparing strange contraptions that transport water to something as natural and fun as /bending/. Bending is in her blood, these strange bath thingies are not! Toph tenses slightly when Jarvis states the lock as been released, and indeed, she is standing on the pebbled stone. And it doesn't matter what temperature it is.

        A surprised shriek echoes throughout the room as Toph pulls back, eyes wide in shock as she presses herself up against the wall. "You promised you wouldn't turn it on!" she states in an indignant tone, and probably reminding Pepper of a malcontent feline who suddenly got its paws wet.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
        ... Pepper is caught between laughing and crying. Both at poor Toph. "Jarvis, halt the flow!" she calls out, dashes back, and grabs a towel. This she gently lowers over the kid's shoulders.

        "Oh my god, Toph, I'm so sorry." she states, genuinely. "I lost track and... this is all my fault."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
        This isn't funny! The towel is clutched at, and the blind earthbender grumbles. Her clothes are partially /wet/ now. "You are lucky you aren't lying," is all she says with a sour look on her face. SHEESH. If the amount of water had been more, then most likely Toph would have freaked out more. Now she was merely caught unaware, and her hydrophobia set in. Perhaps this will give Pepper a clue about what kind of work Tony has ahead of him since he stated his little apprentice needs to learn how to swim.

        Taking a moment to consider, Toph grumbles and reaches up to take off her head piece, then her additional bracers and her belt. "Very well... I'm partially soaked anyway."

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
        Pepper's there to take them. "I'm just going to put them on the counter, next to the basin." she states, and she knocks lightly on the basin to make it obvious where they're at. And then she comes back with wash clothes, and another dry towel, and lays them over the little half wall. "... if you'd like, I can grab you a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt to wear while your clothes dry off." she offers. And she sets the bottle of earthy, herby, grassy-smelling no-tears-all-in-one on the half-wall as well. "There's the soap."