Will not be denied

Characters: Pepper Tony
Rated: PG
Summary: Tony goes into The Bunker to look over the armor taken from Riri
OOC Date: March 4, 2018
IC Date: March 4, 2018
Where: The Bunker, Stark Tower

Daybreak in Stark Industries. It's a Sunday, but those in the Tower still work, albeit in something of a skeleton-y sort of fashion. Except, perhaps, the CEO himself.

Since returning from the lunch at the Middle Eastern restaurant (and skipping the meeting), Tony brought the bag of armor downstairs into his lab, 'The Bunker' and hasn't emerged yet.

With the roughly built helmet on the table before him, Tony's got music blaring, the coffee pots going at full capacity, and he's performing test after test on them, schematics brightly conveyed in the air around him as he he stares at them. On occasion, he'll move a display with a swipe of his hand, calling out, "Give me an electro-magnetic reading on system 3," without ever dropping his gaze from everything that goes on around him. He's dressed down, jeans and a t-shirt, tousled hair that has suffered many a finger-through just to keep it from falling into his eyes (not that it's long enough to do so!).

By the looks of things, he's been up now over 24 hours, though that's not a record for him- not by a longshot.

~

There's a beepbeepbeep, a faint buzz and then the sound of Pepper's heels clicking along the floor before a freshly made cup of coffee appears just in front of Tony's face from one side and breakfast pocket on the other. Of course, a proper breakfast is waiting upstairs. "Tony… Time to take a break." She doesn't really expect him to listen. She knows better. "It's not like I'm asking you to do something as silly as sleep. Maybe just… eat a breakfast. Shower. Put on clean clothes…"

Her head tilts. "This is the armor taken from Miss Williams?" She doesn't, for a moment, believe that he plans on suing the child. "What are you tryi—going to do with it?" Because Tony Stark never just tries. He succeeds.

~

The blaring music that is partially responsible for keeping Tony wide awake is turned down a few decibels, though it did hide Pepper's approach until she was right there next to him, offering up the coffee. The smell of freshly brewed certainly kills the 'burned coffee' smell, and he sits back reflexively, taking the cup from her. The food is next, though put to the side.

His eyes never leave those readouts, though, and when he speaks, he's facing away from Pepper. "No…" Tony's voice is a touch distracted, and he shakes his head. "No.. this.. this is interesting. The kid is brilliant. She's got things going on in there, like.. put together using random parts around. Look, like here," Tony swipes a side readout, "That's a circuit board from an old school engineering calculator, only hopped up now, because she's got it going over there.." and he moves the screen again, highlighting currents, circuitry.. all a very, very organized mess. "She must have done some hardcore studying.. and I can't let this go."

Tony stares silently at it for a couple more heartbeats before he remembers the coffee freshly brought, and he brings it to his lips, taking the first sip, then swallow.

"I had J look her up. MIT at 11. Robotics. Kid like this isn't gonna quit just because I threaten her with a cease and desist.." Tony turns around finally and looks up at Pepper. "Kid like this needs support."

~

Pepper watches and while she follows along easily enough and realizes what they girl has done is extraordinary, it doesn't make nearly as much sense to her as it does Tony. Even if she has learned quite a bit since she started working for him.

"Are you considering offering her a job or putting her through school?" She knows that look he has. "And shall I have her brought in?"

~

Tony sits quietly for a couple more beats before his head shakes ever so slightly, his voice low and simply catching up. "No. I'm going to watch her. Get this suit to the point where it won't kill her, or get her killed, all using.." Here, he shifts tracks on his train of thought, "See.. every engineer has a fingerprint. A way they write out their product. What I'm going to do is to write it in her own language at least a rudimentary defense system."

Spinning around in his wheely chair, Tony rocks his head back so he can see Pepper 'upside down'. "She's gonna need to be able to follow it in order for her to isolate the systems later and learn." Rocking his head forward, he takes another swallow of that coffee, "Clean it up a little, find out where she's hiding, and deliver it."

~

The food is picked up, held for a few moments and then held around to the aide of him like it's being offered for the first time again. "Riri Williams was her name. I'm sure JARVIS can find her. She and her friend didn't seem very… subtle."

The food is given a little shake. "Eat. Or I start handing you papers to sign." Pause. Beat. "Please, Tony."

~

The movement near his side is caught out, and Tony chuffs a soft chuckle that only rides on a bit of air. "Yeah, I will…" Reaching out for the breakfast, it's still, at its core, lukewarm. "I will.. promise. And you?" He looks up once again at her and offers a smile, his free hand held out to ask for hers briefly. "Hold my calls?" He's going to be at this for awhile.

~

"I've eaten. There's something more substantial upstairs." Not that she really expects him to actually go up and eat. Smile begets smile though and her hand reaches out to hold his for a moment, giving it a gentle squeeze. Smile turns into a smirk and her head falls off to one side with a knowing look. "Don't I always?"

~

Tony smiles at the squeeze, looking at their hands as they're briefly held. He cants his head and looks back up at the lovely woman that is pretty much his world. "It's why I keep you around. You're the best." Finally, slowly, he retrieves his hand, ready to turn around to get back to work. Distractedly, he opens the wrapper for his breakfast and takes a bite, brown eyes looking and refocusing on the displays, getting himself back into the groove; a place he'll be for the next 12, 24, 36 hours?

~

"I thought it was because I was the only one who would put up with you." And the words would be scathing if it weren't for the affection softening them and the way she smiles for him. "I'll be back down with lunch and a fresh carafe of coffee later."

He gets back to work and she turns to do the same. Pausing at the door, she looks over her shoulder and smiles gently before dipping out the door and going back upstairs.

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