pineslog | (no subject)

Who: Pepper Potts & Steve Rogers.
Where: (⌐■_■) His place.
When: Backdated to the second week of April.
What: Steve fills Pepper in on the strangeness that is Wayward Pines.
Warnings: None.
[Closed]

[ pepper was sitting at the back of steve’s final class for the day mulling over a strange conversation they’d had earlier. they regularly went out for lunch, dining around town at the different hot spots, but today he had invited her to his place. she wouldn’t have thought anything of it if not for his delivery. it sounded kind of… ominous. but wait, no, she was just letting her paranoia get the best of her. ]

[ she hadn’t felt like herself since she arrived, the mixed bag of things she remembered not only confusing, but also unsettling. it didn’t feel right, but she had no idea how to bring it up without sounding out of her mind. ]

[ when his class ends she snaps out of her thoughts, sitting up that much straighter, because, no, she definitely hadn’t spaced out. she smiles as his students pass, waiting until the room is clear before leaving her seat and approaching him. ] Ready to get going?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's not the first time that he's tried to hint that she come over, with or without Tony, but subterfuge has never been Steve's strong suit. He suspects it's only come off as neighborly politeness, even if it's not really his style to make such an offer in anything less than earnest. But he has no idea how much Pepper remembers. He knows the real memories surface faster for some people than others, though it'd taken some time to realize even that much when one way or the other they've been told to keep silent about it. Steve's not so good at that, either. ]

Ready. [ He shrugs into his jacket, draws his keys out of the pocket to lock the classroom door behind them. The usual routine for heading out for his lunches with Pepper, so this much, at least, shouldn't strike anyone watching as too out of the ordinary. ] Sorry, I usually walk here in the morning. You gonna be okay in those?

[ He nods to her heels with a small smile. ]

[ it didn’t strike pepper as anything but welcoming, since steve was a longtime friend of the family. she couldn’t remember all of the details, but he was also a part of the avengers, which was what she assumed was the name of tony’s band from back in the day. and speaking of tony… it was always such a chore to drag him out of the house when he was working on something so she hadn’t bothered to ask. he would have forgotten besides. ]

[ as soon as he’s got his jacket on pepper turns, starting for the door, turning his comment gives her pause. casting a glance over her shoulder she looks him up and down, lips quirking as she stifles a chuckle. ] I can tell. [ pepper stop. ] But I’ll be fine. [ assuming she doesn’t have to cross a dock to get to his door. ] Did you want to pick something up on the way over?

[ Steve ducks his head at the once over, picking out the correct key as a pretext for it, rather than visibly have nothing to say. He usually doesn't when this comes up, but he finds his input isn't usually needed anyway. Thankfully she moves on quickly, and he looks back up, reaching past her to open the door. ]

Nah, if you'd like to stay for dinner we've got plenty I can whip up at the house.

[ Though the compliment does give him an idea — a very, very bad idea, but one that would explain him bringing her into his bedroom for anyone watching — and he frowns to himself as he locks the door behind them and starts down the hallway, assuming Pepper will follow. She's certainly never had trouble keeping up, heels or not. ]

Should just be the two of us for a while, anyway.

[ He doesn't look to her at his side as he says it. He doesn't know if he can. ]

[ she meant nothing by it… at least nothing like that. it was just a harmless observation, one that she assumes he’s heard dozens of times. ] If it’s not too much trouble. [ smiling her thanks as he opens the door she steps out in front, moving to stand by the side as he locks up. ] I’d be more than happy to lend a helping hand, so don’t feel bad about asking. [ he doesn’t need to do all the work, not when she’s capable of sharing the burden. ]

[ if only she knew what kinds of ideas her innocuous remark has spurred she would have never said it. ] So what’s on the… [ and that gives her pause, breaking her stride and train of thought for no more than a moment. ] menu. [ she clears her throat, shuffling through her papers in an attempt to distract from her ( somewhat ) obvious slip up. ] You know what they say, two’s company.

That they do. [ Unfortunately, it's the best idea he's got. Star spangled man with a plan, his left foot. She doesn't seem to have picked up on it, though, and Steve's not sure if he feels relieved about that or not.

It's probably better to wait until they're closer to the house, but ruse or not he balks at the thought of Pepper feeling like he's putting moves on her where she might not feel safe turning him down. It occurs to him that this might've actually been easier to pull off if he were smaller. He slips his hands into his pockets and keeps them there as they walk. ]

I was, uh. I'm not that hungry. [ He swallows, and it takes a lot of effort for his body to flush given the steady beat of his heart even under the influence of his emotions, but just because it doesn't show under his skin doesn't mean it's not apparent in his demeanor. ] I thought we could skip straight to company.

[ And then, in spite of the very real sense of shame at the suggestion, he makes eye contact, trying and probably failing to tell her without saying it that there's more to this. ]

Edited 2017-06-07 01:51 (UTC)

[ given the circumstances it’s not the worst idea. she doubts she’d be able to pull off something like this, so when she inevitably finds out that he’s not putting the moves on her she’ll have to commend him on his… interesting choice in tactics. it’ll be something they laugh about later… or, rather, something natasha and tony laugh about later. ]

[ she’d be lying if she said she didn’t feel a little awkward. something feels… off, and she just can’t find it in herself to believe just what it might be. ]

No? [ curious and curiouser. ] …oh. [ and that is more or less the confirmation she needed to abort. ] How about we reschedule. I do have a lot to do and I’m sure Tony… [ catching his eyes she feels her stomach knot, because something’s not adding up. ] can wait. [ she mouths ‘what’ as she takes his arm in hand and squeezes, determined to get to the bottom of this insanity. she trusts him not to cross the line, but should he do so, then she’s completely prepared to put him in his place. ] It’s… not often I find myself in such good company.

[ In spite of the immediate, inevitable sense of guilt, he's not too worried about Natasha. (Which doesn't mean he won't be in knots about telling her, or that he won't need to get it off his chest the moment he next sees her.) She knows how he feels about her, that he'd never, really.

It's Tony that's the unknown quantity. Steve's already broken his trust once before, which he may or may not even remember. (That Steve sees hide nor hair of him on a regular basis doesn't really speak to that in either direction. Tony could be avoiding him, or he could just be . . . Tony.) Knowing he put the moves on his girl, in earnest or not, at least won't do Steve any favors, even if it doesn't put Tony in a 'shoot first, ask questions later' kind of mood.

So he figures he has to follow through, now that she's caught on, until they get to a point where he can explain. Despite that — despite himself — he can't help but look a little amused at her words as she takes his arm, his brow lifting just slightly. That's laying it on a little thick, Pepper. And he thought he was bad at this. Still, he takes a breath and leans over slightly to put his mouth near her cheek, though the low murmur there is for the benefit of her ear. ] Trust me.

[ When he pulls back he doesn't look away from her, and all humor is absent from his expression. None of this is a joke. ]