2262/Pepper's First Mother's Day

Pepper's First Mother's Day
Date of Scene:	16 May 2015
Location:	New York-199999
Synopsis:	It's the first year that Pepper is officially a mother, and Toph does what she can to make the day memorable for her mom.
Cast of Characters:	20, 204

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Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Early Sunday mornings are meant for one thing. Sleeping.

    Yet not everybody is asleep around six am at Stark Tower, and not just the security guards. Up in the penthouse it seems that somebody is awake and busy at work in the kitchen, trying to be quiet for now. It doesn't help that there's an insistent kitty trotting to and fro around her feet, letting out some soft meows. Occasionally he is rewarded with some pieces of meat being tossed down, and he quickly eats at the tiny pieces. Likewise Buster is quick to follow the teenager as she carries a tray from the kitchen and to the master bedroom. The door is opened, and Buster slinks inside and hurries towards the bed, jumping up onto the covers and purring.

    At the same time Toph enters the bedroom, not turning on the lights as she walks over to the bed, sure that her adoptive mother isn't sleeping too heavily. She should easily be able to wake up and spot the sight of Toph, still wearing her pjs, her hair a mess that rivals the somewhat messy breakfast tray; a plate with slices of toast, another plate with microwaved bacon, some pop tarts of varying flavours, jam and butter, cheese, two glasses of orange juice as well as a large mug of coffee. And a shoddily wrapped present.

    "Happy mother's day..." Toph greets Pepper as she stands next to the bed.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
Early sunday mornings are not usually meant for sleeping. Sometime's it's meant for late Mondays across the world. Sometimes it's meant for traveling, and sometimes it's meant for calling up family. However, Pepper had been hard at work int he RESCUE suit the night before, and bruised as she was, she had elected to sleep in. Her dreams were the stuff of her longing, rolling over and finding Tony, half-naked, covered with grease and passed out on the chair rather than hopping into bed.

    .... a girl can dream, can't she?

    Potts hears the door open, her red hair going every which way, and her eyes squinting in the dim.

    "Tmph...?" she inquires sleepily -- and figuring that's a rather silly question to ask (how many teenagers does she live with?), she reaches up and turns on the lights.

    "What's this? Breakfast, in bed? I'm in the lap of luxury now." she grins.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Hearing Pepper shift in bed and turn on the lights, Toph holds out the tray with a weak smile. "It's one tradition I can get behind," Toph explains, holding the tray steady as she scoots into bed next to Pepper. "Besides, it's your first mother's day. I... kinda planned this." Except she didn't think it would be here in New York. But it kind of makes it even more important, right? Sure, the breakfast doesn't look really impressive, but there's some variation there.

    Buster slinks up towards Pepper and headbutts her arm while purring, then curls up next to her. In the meanwhile Toph sets the tray down, sitting down on the other side of Pepper before she leans in to give her a careful hug.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    Pepper pulls some pillows up to lean against -- and some to the side too, for Toph. Buster headbutts her elbow, and gets a light scritch from her long nails as a result, and Pepper smiles, a slow smile of realization that dawns on her.

    This is /her/ first mother's day. As a mother. As Toph's mom. As Toph slides in for a careful hug, Pepper leans forward, and wraps her arms around the girl. Her daughter. /Her daughter/. Her's and Tony's kid.

    "You are going to help me /eat/ all this, right?" she offers as a joke, still holding the girl in her arms.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    The blind girl easily settles in with the pillows and leans into Pepper as she wraps her arms around her, closing her eyes. Though when she asks that silly question Toph can't help but grin weakly, not pulling away from the hug just yet. "Yeah, I don't think you want some of the pop tarts. And you gotta wait with totally pigging out until /after/ you are married." Even if Tony isn't here right now, he /is/ coming back after all.

    The waiting is still painful however.

    Toph does unwrap her arms from Pepper and she points at the wrapped gift. "You gotta open your gift before you eat though!" she demands, then she herself reaches out and grabs a slice of toast, using one of the knives on the tray to butter it up first.

    The gift itself is not that well wrapped, and if Pepper shakes it there's rattling inside, the sound of metal. Upon unwrapping it there's a piece of paper with words written on it, obviously something that Toph has printed out with the help of Jarvis. 'Voucher: the mother recipient can ask anything of the giver for one whole day'. As for what made the rattling? An obviously metalbended locket inlaid with three small gemstones, on a long and delicate chain.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    Pepper gives a small laugh. "YEah, you can totally have dibs on the poptarts, as long as they're not blueberry." she states with authority, and had been reaching for one of the aformentioned poptarts when Toph spoke up. She gives a momentary pout, and then switches gears to reach for the present. She gives it a gentle shake. "Hrrmm... I'm going to guess it is not Earth Kingdom cuisine in here, unless Earth Kingdom Cuisine is rocky." she comments, teasingly and reaches up to ruffle Toph's bangs a bit before she opens the present properly. "Ooh, a gift certificate. 'Voucher:' she intones, sounding official, "the mother recipient can ask anything of the giver for one whole day'. Oooh. A whole day of... cleaning carpets maybe. Or washing laundry. Or stuffy music hall attendence. Hrm... I'm going to have to wait to cash this one in." she grins... but when she reached for the locket, she gives a soft 'ooh' sound, and she raises the locket up, letting the gemstones catch the light. The delicate chain was impressive, but you know that feeling when a kid makes a macaroni necklace for their parent? And the mother gets all choked up?

    Potts is there. "Toph, this is lovely!" she whispers, running her fingertips over the locket, and she goes to open it. "I think this one's going to run neck-and-neck with my other favorite necklace..."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "I did get a few blueberry ones there," Toph states. "The ones with smores are totally mine." Though Toph seems content to munch on her toast as Pepper begins the process of unpacking the present. "And nah, the only Earth Kingdom cuisine I'm going to get you are the good bits, like the dumplings." They are a big hit in this family, after all. Toph doesn't react much when Pepper ruffles her hair, sitting still and letting Pepper do as she likes. Heck, Pepper is one of the few people she allows to brush her hair. Because she does it properly without pulling on her hair.

    It's kind of fun that Pepper reads the text on the voucher out loud. Though she puts on a pout when Pepper makes those silly suggestions. "We barely have carpets." Stuffy music hall attendance? Like Pepper would make her go through with /that/! ... she wouldn't, right?

    When Pepper reaches for the locket, Toph sits still and halts chewing on her toast, clearly eager to witness her reaction. Immediately Toph smiles, glad that Pepper likes the gift. "I bended it myself, and I found some proper gems for it too. The pattern on the outside too is kinda based on Earth Kingdom decorations and stuff." There is nothing inside the locket for now, but there's room for two pictures inside it, or a very small item even.

    "If you want, we... could always go to a spa today and relax," Toph offers. Spas are great, as long as people stay away from her feet. And since Pepper was busy working in the RESCUE suit yesterday, then she might appreciate it even more, right?

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    Like 'The Manhattan Pops play The Best of Queen' or 'We Will Rock You' or Cirque du Soileil. No, Potts wouldn't take Toph to overly stuffy things. She doesn't even go to them. Potts carefully selects a poptart (being alergic to strawberries, you gotta be careful), and she breaks it in half to chew on one a moment. And she gives a smile. "I think a day in might be in order. We can order delivery, stay in our pajamas all day and... I think I have an idea of a fun thing..." she gives a Cheshire Cat grin. "Did I ever tell you that I was /such/ a dweeb when I was in school that I collected /radio programs/?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    If it's one thing Toph has picked up on, it's Pepper's allergy to strawberries. So there are no strawberry pop tarts on the breakfast tray, nor anything that could be mistaken for it. Not that she has any allergies herself, but hey, it's not her favourite flavour, so why bother?

    Toph snuggles up against the pillows and rests her head against Pepper's side, nodding a bit at the suggestion. "Delivery sounds nice..." And pajamas are really comfy too.

    It sounds like Pepper is grinning. And Toph blinks, arching an eyebrow as she reaches out for one of the glasses of orange juice. "How do you collect radio programs anyway? And what for?"

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    "Well, back before there were televisions everywhere, everyone had radios. Like, the kind in the car, not the kind we talk to the Union with. And at night, they'd run programs like 'The Shadow', which a mysterious figure played protector to a city at large, or the adventures of Little Orphan Annie. And when... I lived in foster care, when Carrie was having a hard time with some issues... our foster parents didn't /have/ a TV. They had a record player and all these radio programs pressed onto a plastic disc, and Georgie and I would listen to those. I guess I'm the only one that kept up with it." she leans back. "But it's a show that doesn't rely on you being able to see the screen."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Toph munches on her toast, popping the last of it into her mouth before she takes a swig of her juice, then reaches for a pop tart for herself. "So... it's only sound based and a bit easier for me to follow than movies, huh?" she concludes, then nods.

    "Sounds good to me," Toph responds with a nod to Pepper before she stuffs her mouth full again. "You think we could order burritos and stuff? And donuts?"

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    "Burritos, and donuts /and/ pho, /and/ maybe a pizza. I'm feeling festive." Pepper replies as she slides out of bed, clad in just a tank top and some paticularly comfy IRON MAN Brand Lounger pants, courtesy of some Chinese company that made them and sold them without any sort of liscence on the event of her pre-marriage widowing.

    he woman looks out over the city, a piece of toast in one hand (with a poptart on top of it), and she studies the skyline, looking for any flash of red or gold.

    "... screw it. Jarvis? Order burritos, donuts, Vietnamese beef pho from Tiger Blossom and one of Vinny's pizzas for delivery i n about two hours. Clear my schedule for tomorrow. I..." she turns to Toph, "am taking a day off to spend with my kid. Because she is awesome."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    All right, this sounds like the proper way to dine on a day meant to celebrate mothers. By eating tasty food and just relaxing along with family.

    While Pepper gets out of bed Toph stays behind with Buster, who now seems to be curious about the bacon and even steals a piece for himself that he nibbles happily on.

    The order of food does sound yummy, even if Toph isn't too familiar with the restaurants around here like Pepper is. Sure, she has eaten at some places, but it's not like she has spent a lot of time in New York yet and been able to determine which places has the best food. But she trusts that Pepper knows. And the blind girl grins when it's clear that Pepper clears her schedule to actually relax. Because she obviously needs it now more than ever.

    "Put on one of those radio programs and I'll listen."

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    Bacon for the Bacon Cat. And Pep knows NYC food like the back of her hand. She loved the city, as much as she loved driving along Malibu, she loved New York. Which is why the city hung heavy in her heart.

    "Of course." Pep grins, and she grabs a hairbrush. "Let's go into the livingroom with the rest of this; I'll brush your hair out so you can look human again." she chides playfully. "And I'll put on one of my favorites."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Into the living room, huh? Toph nods and stuffs another piece of toast into her mouth, then she grabs the tray from the bed, letting Buster keep his piece of bacon as she scoots out of bed. "I thought I always looked like a little troll?" Toph jokes in return. Yes, she is aware that Pepper likes to tease her for her messy and unruly hair. Let her do that. "So what is one of your favourite radio programs, huh?" she asks, heading into the living room of the penthouse. It sure is a good thing that most of this place is made of metal and concrete.