16302/Two Years is Too Long

Two Years is Too Long
Date of Scene:	26 May 2024
Location:	Penthouse - Stark Tower
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Pepper Potts, Black Widow (Belova)

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Pepper Potts has posed:
It's been a minute, and a lot can happen in two years.

For starters, six months ago, Pepper was promoted from Tony Stark's assistant to Co-CEO of Stark Industries. Which, honestly, wasn't as big of a promotion as it sounds. Everyone already knew that Pepper was keeping things together behind the scenes. Now she's keeping things together in front of the scenes.

On the bright side, it came with a substantial increase in her salary.

And, shortly thereafter, an invitation to move into the penthouse with Tony.

About a year ago, one of Tony's suits got loose. For a while, everyone thought someone broke in and stole one. It wasn't revealed to the press until much later that it was, in fact, a cyber-security intrusion. Someone exploited the drone tech Tony was testing, and the suit tried to single-handedly rob a bank.

Tony stopped it with some outside help, but it was a PR nightmare for a while.

There was also a gala fundraiser following that during which all the power went out in Stark Tower and someone took over the lights and digital screens.

It hasn't exactly been a banner year for the Stark IT department, but Pepper, thankfully, seems not much the worse for wear. She's two years older. She's two years happier, living with Tony. She's got a few more lines on her face from both smiles and worries. She still has those same, kind eyes, though, when she opens the door to let her friend in.

"Yelena," she says warmly, stepping back and gesturing inside, "please, come in."

Pepper had reached out not long ago to ask Yelena over for dinner, and the implication had been transparent enough. The two hadn't really talked for the last two years... not since Tony... well... not since the decision had been made to let her go.

All through the penthouse, the aroma of freshly cooked food wafts on the air currents like those cartoon scents, beckoning the nose towards the kitchen.

Pepper's dressed down in a pair of jeans, a white blouse that's only half tucked in, and a glass of wine in one hand. No formality. No extra security. Just the two of them.

Her smile is small but genuine, eyes appraising if not apologetic. "It's good to see you."

Black Widow (Belova) has posed:
Yelena Belova is dressed stylishly and cleanly, in straight jeans and a white tank top, rings on her fingers. The bracers on her wrists have a faint reddish cast from the glowing potential within. The Widow's Bite is infamous and she sees no reason to leave it behind, even in benign circumstances. Her blonde hair is slicked back, tucked behind her ears and she's clean, without makeup. She is watchful, as always, even here. Yelena knows all too well that Pepper could be under attack at anytime.

"Of course you are also knowing how to cook. Like your Tony Stark, you are infuriatingly good at everything you try, Pepper Potts," she says.

She hesitates for a moment, as if pushing past her own instincts, and offers a brief embrace. There are not many Yelena would call friend. Even with the passage of time, Pepper's gotten closer than most to the elusive Russian emigre.

Or perhaps defector is the proper term. She never cared for that one. She sees no defect in her behavior.

"I am guessing that you might be in danger again. I saw that you were promoted. Tony Stark can make good decisions, it seems. Sometimes."

Pepper Potts has posed:
That embrace is more than welcomed -- a tangle of arms and smiles, of genuine affection and regret for time lost -- and when Pepper leans back again, the curl of her lips is even more prominent than before. It reaches all the way up to her eyes, crinkling them at their corners.

"Coming from you, that's high praise," she muses. "But someone has to keep Tony alive, since he won't do it himself. If he kept eating take out shawarma, he was going to have to put in another arc reactor, so I've been doing a lot more cooking over the last year or so."

She closes the door and beckons farther inside, towards the kitchen where prepared food is being kept warm. One of the tables (that seats eight) with the best view of the New York night skyline through the floor-to-ceiling windows has been set for two -- one at the far end, one on the side, in an 'L' shape.

"He's been known to have moments of genius," Pepper admits, the smile evident in her voice. "But I wouldn't say that I'm in danger again -- not immediately. The new position is much more visible, and there's always risk."

There's a small waving gesture with one hand.

"I won't belabor the point or waste your time, Yelena. I felt better when you were with me, and I'd like you to consider coming back to work for me -- not Tony, me. He has Happy, who is _so_ dear to me, but Happy can't be in two places at once."

She weaves a hip around the end of the counter. "More than that, though, I've missed you. And, even if the answer is no, I was hoping we could have dinner, talk, catch up."

She makes a little gesture to an array of bottles.

"Can I get you something to drink? There's juice, mocktails... Tony's sober, and I am _fully_ supportive of that decision." She lifts her own 'wine' glass slightly. "White grape juice."

Black Widow (Belova) has posed:
Yelena Belova gives a light shrug, "I have heard that Tony Stark is genius. Is true, he is very good with tin cans and laser beams. People are more complicated than those things, I am thinking," she says, her accent palpable.

She considers playing coy, picking up a glass and taking some white wine when offered. She isn't particular about vintages or that sort of thing. She'd enjoyed her share of swill and spit out her share of the good stuff. Yelena didn't like to follow anyone's tastes but her own, not anymore.

"You can always waste my time, Pepper. I give you permission. I find wasting time is often the most enjoyable use of it. Do not mistake, I enjoy my work, but there is something to be said for a little peace and quiet," she says. "You are oe of the people who helped teach me that, you know."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Piper's eyes alight with mirth at that last sentiment, laughter threatening to bubble up. "Well, at least someone around here listens to me."

A lot of people listened to her, of course. Just not the one she shares a life with -- most the time. There was the rare occasion when her voice hit a frequency even Tony obeyed.

"So, tell me what's been going on in your life," she insists, moving to take the plates out of the warmer, each laden salmon coulibiac (with the addition of a light lemon-dill sauce), roasted vegetables, and kasha varnishkes.

"I hope you're hungry," she adds as she carries them to the table. "I've been snacking as I was cooking, and I'm still starving. This is the first meal I've had all day."

Black Widow (Belova) has posed:
Yelena Belova takes her seat, immediately showing herself to have no lack of appetite. She grew up on strict rations, her nutrition carefully managed to optimize her physical potential. She still kept it largely healthy, but indulged herself with increasing frequency now with no one to restrain her. This is better than the cheeseburgers and ice cream she usually gluttons herself on, though.

"I have no idea what a lot of these things are, but they taste excellent" she says. It's hard to distract Yelena from food and so that dominates her focus until she at least slakes the hunger in her belly.

"I have been well enough. Freelancing. Mostly in America, but sometimes internationally. I got to go to Japan. That was fun. Not for the Yakuza I visited. But for me, yes, very fun. I met one of the city mascots. He was a large ear of corn who danced."

She didn't tell Pepper that the corn ran away screaming after Yelena spiked the throat of the oyabun's oldest son with a pair of chopsticks. That incident had already ruined one nice dinner for Yelena. She saw no need to do it again.

"Nothing steady. SHIELD considers me tainted goods, I think. Or they are simply afraid of me. I am used to that."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper's not quite as single-mindedly focused on eating, actually letting her attention drift either out the window or to smiling at the way Yelena enjoys the food a few times. "I'm glad you like it," she preens.

Soon enough, though, she's dabbing at her mouth with a napkin and turning so she can face the other woman more directly, an air of relaxed comfort in an environment that's... not at all new to her, but relatively new to being _hers_.

After all, it hadn't been all _that_ long ago that Pepper had been waking up on her own, modest apartment and then making her way over so she could show Tony's drunken one-night-stands the door.

"I suppose that works both for and against you," she comments softly. "You know I can't promise the constant excitement of SHIELD -- at least, I hope I can't -- but we still try to appreciate the quiet moments when they come."

She shrugs faintly.

"Only yesterday, I caught Tony using a plasma torch on his wrist. Apparently, it's not enough to wait for the bad things to come to us. As usual, he's quiet capable of cutting out the quiet moments on his own. Literally."

Her smile thins.

"Do you have anything you'd like to be doing? Professionally?... Personally?"