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Owner Pose
Tony Stark "Jarvis, where's Pepper?"

"Locked in her office, crying, sir."

"No shit, really? Is my humor too much for her hormones?"

Jarvis, if possible, sounds exasperated. "...Evidently, sir."

"Well, unlock the door, I'm going in."

"I'm not sure I advise--"

"Jay. Unlock the door. Override authority, uh, oh that's right, /me/."

"Very well sir..."

With that, Tony shoulders the office door open and bravely walks in to his potential doom, carrying a plate with a generously peanut-buttered sandwich in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. On the plate is also a small pile of Belgian chocolates, despite his claim of eating them all. "Are you really crying in here?" he asks, his voice halfway between teasing and actual concern.
Pepper Potts     Pepper is sniffling at her office chair, her head in her arms, rounded belly showing. She's finally switched from nromal clothes to maternity, though her usual wardrobe has been replaced by only four or five outfits -- no sense in buying tons of clothes when you're only heavily pregnant for a few months, right?

    She has a set of earbuds in, plugged into a datapad.

    And there is a sad movie on. It's sad because the light is blue, and the subtitles at the bottom of this French movie are talking about how they will never see each other again when she goes off to fight Robo-Hitler in the future in order to save the dinosaurs. Or something. I'ts terribly unimportant.
Toph Beifong     Man, this is why she needs to be around more often, isn't it? There's no way Tony means it, but well... Pepper is a bit delicate nowadays, isn't she? Not so weird really, and this is a situation where you can't use the earthbender approach.

    When that fails, use food to appease the beast.

    It's not many seconds after Tony has had Jarvis open the door that the blind teen hurries into the hallway, carrying a bag of dumplings, as well as some fresh donuts with lots of chocolate on them. Heck, sugary cravings are bad during certain times of the months, she doesn't want to imagine how it must be for Pepper who usually has lots more self control.

    Unlike Tony she knows she hasn't said anything to potentially upset Pepper, and as she walks in past Tony, giving him a slight bump of her elbow. It's not like he's done anything punch worthy, after all. "Maybe better to joke about something else than chocolate..." she whispers in advice to him. Just a helpful advice that he might have learned already, but...

    The blind girl has no problems walking right up to Pepper, reaching out to take one of the ear plugs out of her ear before she leans in for a hug. "We've got you stuff to eat. Come out of the office...?" Toph asks. Come on, no need to be sad!
Tony Stark Tony's reaction to seeing Pepper crying over a foreign movie is predictably different. He laughs. "Oh, I get it, locked up in here crying over /chick flicks/, thank you Jarvis."

He shoves back when Toph elbows him, and also approaches the desk, setting down the plate and glass so Pepper can see that the chocolates are well intact. "Yeah, come on, at least watch this schlock in the living room so I can experience the tragedy too," he teases. "Or, you know, sit on the couch. It's gotta be more comfortable than your desk chair." Even if it is super specially ergonomically designed for long stretches of work.

He pushes out his lower lip in am exaggerated pout and looks beseechingly at Pepper for all of about a second and a half before he breaks out in another laugh. "Aww, come on honey," he cajoles, gently but still giggling as he leans in on the other side from Toph to give her a sloppy kiss on the cheek and then tries to tug her upward into a hug. Doubleteaming. He glances at the display of Pepper's device and almost recognizes the movie. "You know they get back together at the end when the aliens cryo-freeze him and she finds his stasis pod in the future." Or something. It is indeed terribly unimportant.
Pepper Potts     "Ugh. This is the last time I accept movie reccomendations from Maria!" Pepper laughs, one earbud hanging from her ear, the other slowly pulled out as she's pulled up and into hugs. looping one arm around Tony (who gets a peck on the cheek), and the other around Toph (who gets a peck on the head and a hair ruffle), as she settles, and gives a bit of a laugh. "I thought I oculd catch some screen time between work. I'm still slowly getting congratulations messages from around the multiverse, you know. And it's not going to be too much longer until there will be 'it's a boy' or 'it's a girl' plastered all over the place. Ugh. Pink bunnies and fuzzy duckies forever." Pepper protests, but she is surrounded by sweet things -- and food, too. Her stomach grumbles.
Toph Beifong     Chick flicks? Cue an eyeroll from Toph at that. Seriously, movies with a focus on romance sounds so boring. Unless it's either got a bad actor, a bad script or tons of violence, then it better be a Disney movie or something.

    But what matters is that Pepper needs some cheering up. "You shouldn't work too much now, you know. Spend some more time relaxing and take care of yourself," Toph suggests, "There are other people who can step up at Stark Industries, right?" At the mention of gender though, Toph looks pensive. "Shouldn't you know by now, though? I mean, you're past five months, aren't you? Is it a boy or a girl squid?" At that Toph leans down a bit to listen to Pepper's stomach, closing her eyes in concentration. The rumbling however makes Toph point to the sandwich Tony made. "Eat something so I can hear better. And why have bunnies or duckies? Badgermoles are way better." Of course they should know this!

    "Goldie is right though, I vote for you getting your ass on the couch."
Tony Stark "Not in MY house," Tony declares, faux-authoritatively. "Robots and rocketships for my little squid." And another tidal wave of congratulations messages. "Maybe," he suggests, "if you're very good and eat all your lunch I'll let you see what I've had the bots up to in the nursery." A very hush-hush project he's been quietly working on in the background for a while now.

Keeping one arm looped around Pepper's back, he picks up the plate and manages to tuck the glass of milk into the crook of his elbow for transport. "When DO you have that sonogram scheduled? Or should we just let Toph tell us?"
Pepper Potts     "... well. Stan is insisting, a little bit, on it being a surprise. It's why they haven't bought anything for the baby yet... apparently it's a very Jewish thing to do?" Pepper gives a small shrug of her shoulders.
Pepper Potts     Pepper glances down at Toph, and then she gives a sidelong smile. "All right, all right, I'll go take a break -- but if I get any phone calls, I have to get back to work. Someone has to run the company, and while Tony shows all the nesting instinct, I suppose that leaves it to me, right?" she jokes as she rises, rubs her lower back and makes her way out of the office. "... did you really bring more of those dumplings back, or just the donuts?" Potts inquires, reaching over and snagging a chocolate... mmm. Chocolate.
Tony Stark "If you get any more phone calls, /I/ will handle them," Tony declares. "You're still working too hard." Hey, part of nesting instinct is protecting his mate, right? "There's a reason we agreed to share the CEO responsibilities, remember?"

His nose wrinkles in a puzzled look. "Why would knowing the sex of the baby have anything to do with them buying anything for it? A giant stuffed giraffe is a giant stuffed giraffe." Isn't that what Carolina got for baby Liz? Or is that what HE got her? He can't remember. "But come on honey, you have to admit you're at least /curious/, right?"
Toph Beifong     "What about robot badgermoles...?" Toph suggests, standing up. Appearantly she's satisfied with what she heard when listening to Pepper's growing belly. It might help reassure Pepper too that everything is indeed all right with the squid. The mention of the nursery does make Toph curious too. And it's a mental reminder that she needs to finish up some stuff for that room too.

    It might be fun if it's a surprise whether it's a boy or a girl, wouldn't it? That's how it goes in most places from what Toph knows. Tony's comment though makes Toph turn her head slightly as she lets out a huff. "Maybe if the baby was surrounded by earthy stuff, but I'm pretty sure that's water in there."

    As always Pepper is constantly in work mode, and Toph smirks a bit at the joke. "Or you could always leave the company to me for a few months, I could kick some people into shape there!" Wouldn't that simply be glorious? "And yeah, of course I have dumplings, /and/ fresh donuts. I promised you, didn't I?" Don't worry Tony, there's dumplings for you too.
Pepper Potts     "The three foot giraffe was my mother's idea." Pepper replies with a smile to Tony as she's drawn back towards the livingroom, stretching her arms a bit over her head and showing the roundness of her belly. What a bother!

    "I was debating on the sonogram, or getting one and just not telling anyone whether it's a boy or a girl... we still have to go over the list of names, don't we?" she pauses a moment. Her nose wrinkling "Or did we decide?" she questions, and she glances over at Toph. "Robot... badgermoles. I'm not sure if the baby will be able to handle those until maaaybe they're a little bit older."

    ... btu at the suggestion that they leave Stark Industries to Toph for a few months... Pepper pauses, and then gets a little bit of a smile.

    "I don't know, Toph, you might be a little busy with your school. Think you could balance so much work and having to be responsible?" she leans over, conspiritally "Tony couldn't do it even before he was Iron Man. That's how I was hired."
Tony Stark "It's not that I /couldn't/ do it," Tony protests. "I just... didn't want to. But Daddy's a /grown-up/ now, isn't he?" he coos at Pepper's belly. "Seriously, honey," this is addressed to Pepper herself, "this is why you have an executive staff. Use them. Like I used you -- well no, not like I used you, that would be entirely inappropriate." He beams helpfully as he shifts the plate and glass to the coffee table and then plops onto the couch, arms spread as if to receive his duly deserved cuddling and adulation.
Toph Beifong     "You can always get the sonogram and not having the doc tell you the gender, right? Isn't it part of making sure the squid is okay?" As for names, that's something she will let Tony and Pepper decide on. It's not that important to her, after all. Most of the time people get called by their nicknames when it comes to her, anyway. The talk about badgermoles is more important. "It's not like I'm going to drag the squid to the badgermoles until they're old enough to walk all the way," she reassures Pepper. But yes, someday the kid /will/ get introduced to real badgermoles. They deserve it.

    Judging by the tone of Pepper's voice it's hard to tell whether she's taking this seriously or not. Either way Toph arches an eyebrow. "Seriously, I have more discipline than Goldie." Heck, she's responsible. "But yeah, the executive staff can sort stuff out, you don't need to do /everything/, really."

    Dumplings are set on down on the table along with the donuts, and Toph waits until Pepper has taken a seat. "Want anything to drink from the kitchen?" she asks.
Pepper Potts     "I wouldn't let you at this point anyway. At least one of us should be concentrating on the baby." Pepper points out, and she rubs the back of her head . She glances at Tony... and then with a sort of mischevious grin just lounges to the side, juuuust out of his reach in a tease, and crosses her arms over the swell in her middle.

    "I suppose Jane, Maria, and Tanya are capable of handling things without me for a few hours..."
Tony Stark "At least a few hours," Tony agrees, scooching over to put himself within reach. "I mean, not a penis among them to act as a handicap." He picks up Pepper's legs and tries to swivel her around on the couch so her feet can rest on his lap.

"We probably SHOULD think about names," he muses, as he tugs at the laces of her shoes. Poor Pepper, no high heels for a few months at least. "I mean unless you really /want/ to name it Bitchin' Camaro. But even then we still need to figure out a boy's name too."
Toph Beifong     "What? Bitchin' Camaro works for boys, doesn't it?" Toph snorts as she flops down onto the couch next to Pepper, then leans forward to pull out some dumplings for them all to eat.
Tony Stark "It's SO a girl's name," Tony disagrees whimsically, as he digs the pad of his thumb into the arch of Pepper's foot and squeezes. "Although, Rocket Bullet is a boy's name and you claimed that anyway." He purses his lips in a pretense of deep thought. "Well, let's see, my dad was Howard, I got Edward, the squid could be... Squidward."
Pepper Potts     "I am /not/ naming the kid after a Nickelodeon character." Pepper replies, dryly, and she leans back a moment, letting Tony toy at her foot, and she gives a soft 'aah' sound.

    "I was thinking about using location names -- but not states. London, Brooklyn, India..."
Toph Beifong     "Claimed it?" Toph snorts, "You practically leapt at the chance of me changing my name, remember?" Though it was kinda funny at the time, and even more in hindsight. As for Squidward being turned down, Toph sees an opportunity. "What about Patrick then?"

    And man, there's the Potts family tradition of locations, huh? "Why name the kid after places, though...?" Since Tony's hands are busy Toph leans over and aims to push a dumpling into his mouth, then she hands one over to Pepper before eating into one herself.
Tony Stark "Brooklyn? Like the Gargoyle?" Tony grins, sliding his thumb to give muscle and tendon a good stretch. One benefit of marrying an incorrigible playboy, he does at least know how to give a good foot massage. "India's all right for a girl, but then you're talking about naming a boy Indio and that's just weird."
Pepper Potts     PEpper eats the dumpling. "The city, Tony. Brooklyn. Where Steve Rogers is from?" Pepper prompts, and she leans back, and she nomfs on her dumpling thoughtfully. "Ireland Stark. London Stark. Bolivia Stark... no, no Boliva. Eeh." Pepper considers.

    "Well. My mother comes from a varied background. No one could decide which family name to give her, so they named her after the state she was born in. My grandmother's names were Irine and Ethel. All in all... Virginia Marie Potts-Stark is not so bad a name. If a mouth ful."