| Clint and Pepper |
| Summary: | No summary provided by loggers. |
| Date: | 2017-03-14 |
| Related: | None |
| NPCs: | None |
| Scene Runner: | NA |
| Social/Plot: | Social |
| Players: |
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Cold, wet, windy and there's snow out there! And dark, can't forget dark. Still, a request is a request, and it's hard to say 'no' to a woman like Ms. Pepper Potts.
Clint Barton actually has a life now. He's got neighbors that really can't seem to believe that he actually is 'Hawkguy' and knows such august people like Captain America and, well, Tony Stark. And Pepper Potts. So, as much as he'd like to namedrop, who believes him?
Not a soul. Even when he takes out his old Avenger's card. Can't even get a discount for a cup of coffee!
But, Clint's answered the summons, the polite request for his presence at Avenger's Mansion. There he is, in the foyer, dressed down in jeans, two coats, a pair of high-topped sneakers. Bow and arrow-less, with hands shoved into pockets. He still has access to the mansion; hell, he still technically has a room here! Still, he hasn't really been in since the place has been rebuilt, and so, he's wandering around, staring at the walls, considering…
The moment that JARVIS informed Pepper that Mr. Barton was waiting in the foyer, she dashed to meet him. But, well, she had a lot of stairs and a whole wing of a corridor to dash, so it's a few minutes. SOon enough, though, she's coming into that main area with a wider smile and tilts her head. "Mr. Barton!" That might be the first hint that she's not the Pepper he knows. SHe'd call him Clint, right? And there is something a bit more put together, strong, maybe mature is the word? To this Pepper. Still, she's smiling and comes deeper into the room, holding out her hand.
"It's good to see you. I hope this wasn't too much of a pain. Do you want food? Something to eat?" She murmurs gently, trying to lead him deeper into the place, towards the kitchen area as that is where she can find the most things he might want to eat or drink. She's in a pair of Jimmy Choos, an elegantly cut designer suit, strawberry hair perfect.
The appearance of Pepper is very much like the one that he knows. It's the little things; the fact that he knows that Stark isn't 'real', that neither was Simon or Wanda or really many that he'd seen. Like his ex-wife that was never his ex-wife. At least his partner in crime was still 'his'. Clint takes it in stride and extends a calloused hand to take hers in brief greeting, "Ms. Potts." Good to see him?
"It's cold, but not much colder than the apartment. Other than the fireplace, so all's good." Once his hand is retrieved, Clint shoves it back into a pocket and is ready to follow her. "Coffee's good. Just had Chinese earlier." He gets a few steps before, "You working between the two buildings now?"
"I'm just trying to get things… Running here again. Something running, you know? Not the Avengers. That is done. There's too much…history. Baggage. But… especially with everything going on… this world needs something. So… I'm cleaning things up." Pepper states pertly, like it's always been her lot in life to clean things in this way. She gives him one last smile and then turns on the ball of her foot to lead the way back to the kitchen.
Her heels click down the long and lonely hallways. So few people here nwo, though there are some signs of life. A door open. A half full laundry hamper in a corner. SOme people are living here. Soon enough, she's clicking on the lights in the big two island kitchen. "…preference of coffee? Robustico? Arabica? Fair trade only?"
"Can't disagree there. Whole lot of baggage, and some I'd rather try and forget." Clint's following towards the kitchen; he knows the way, it's just things are new. The broken walls, the destroyed building is back the way it was, and it's a really strange feeling for him. "Meant to say something to Stark about fixing this place up. Like, 'don't bother', but I suppose that part of it is history." He shrugs, and when he enters the kitchen proper, he pauses to lean on one of the islands.
When met with choices, Clint hesitates before, "Uh.. columbian? Anything black, hot and bitter, and I'm good. Like I'm punishing myself."
"Uh, Columbian. Not fair trade, then." That wasn't judgement in her voice, she swears. She looks over the varoious labels but luckily, eventually, does find a columbian made coffee and then she sighs at the little mader on the counter. "…Uh… wake up? I need night coffee. Not for me. For my friend here." Yes, she was talking to the Keurig. Maybe she'd gone insane. She then opens up the top of the can and sets it next to the Keurig. "This. One cup. Strong." Once the intelligent coffee maker starts reaching for it, she seems content to turn back to him.
"Well… forgetting… can happen a few ways. Never coming back to it, pretending it never happened. Ignoring it. Or… making new memories. Making things better. Facing the shit and standing against it. I… understand if you don't want to do that." But she might not respect him for it.
For a long moment, the little coffee pot remains quiet. In the next second, however, once the coffee is set down, the appliance that could begins its creation of coffee. There and small appendages that emerge from the thing, and within a few scant heartbeats, it begins the whole brewing process.
Clint… stares at it. "Stark." Of course it is! "Is nothing sacred?"
Clint manages to tear his eyes off the little gadget and he looks at Pepper. His jaw shifts to the side before he exhales in a breath of air. "Making things better. After we made things really bad? Why should anyone out there actually believe that we're gonna clean up after ourselves? Stark did his thing, made his bucks. Hell, in case you didn't hear, he was the Director of SHIELD for awhile before it got turned over to Osborne. You wanna know 'cleaning up' after Stark's mess? Right there." The archer shakes his head and pulls up a chair from somewhere before he sit/leans in it. "You tell me why you think people will actually trust any group that comes out of this building saying 'we're gonna protect you'."
The moment CLint asks if nothing is sacred, he wins about a thousand points with Pepper. Her eyes go wide and hands harshly fold on her hips. "I KNOW. He did it without me ASKING. The thing f*cking TAKES MY PULSE SO IT KNOWS WHEN I WAKE UP. It's a creepy stalker and I HATE IT… But…" Pepper sighs, beleaguredly, but honestly, "It…makes the best cup of coffee I've had in a decade, so…" Pepper just shrugs and has clearly resigned herself to the creepy stalker robot.
She then clears her throat, straightening again. They had work to talk about. She listens to the rest that Clint says. She lets him say his entire piece, bowing her head in understanding. Then she states simply, "They won't. That's why we are here and we don't take a public name. We do this really quiet. Then we clean up after it's done. Let them call us what they want. No words. Just actions. And we will clean up because I'm organizing it all."
Clint looks back at the coffee overlord and watches as the coffee finishes. Damned if it doesn't smell really good, though. He's taking her frustrated outburst with full weight and measure, and his hand moves to take the warm drink. Lifting it slowly, he takes the tentative sip in both testing for heat and flavor. Not too hot. And, it doesn't taste really bitter. Another sip is taken, and he makes a face. "Okay, that's good coffee…" and he's not happy about it?
Kate would kick him.
Now, however, it's back to business, and it's more 'Hawkeye' that Pepper is speaking to, rather than 'Clint'. Hawkeye, who has run Avengers teams, and has been screwed this way to Hell and back. Need he even mention being tossed into jail, the damned RAFT, for crying out loud, thanks to Stark? "Quiet. Tony is gonna do something quiet? How do you keep something like this out of the news?" He sounds dubious, but he's not closing the door on the discussion either. "And who is in? I see the place is actually being lived in."
"I know. It's annoying." Pepper states flatly about the coffee. Then she leans her slender hip against the counter, arms crossing over her chest in a way that says she's in for business, not just a casual friend's gathering. She watches his face, blue eyes studying every emotional reaction possible, her jaw set. "Tony will be…Tony. But.. he's different now. It's complicated. As for US being quiet? We won't be, the first time something happens. We'll simply handle it and clean up. The news can say what it want… as for OTHERS…" She shrugs, looking down the hall. "Right now? Princess Shuri and Lady Thor… they are both reliable, and not really show offs."