(no subject)

[rockstark]

[the feed picks Tony up leaning in to peer at the screen, scowling faintly. he pauses to take a drink from the glass Dummy's so kindly holding for him, then scowls a little more]

... Pepper...? Pepper could you c'mere please. I need to ask you something very important.

You know.

About my stuff.

The stuff you apparently deleted.

Comments

voice;

[hulk]

...What got deleted? [ It has to be something important, right? ]

[ms_potts]

[Wanders in, still tapping at something on her PDA. What? You interrupted her while she was working. You don't expect her to just drop EVERYTHING just because you called her name did you?]

Yes, Tony?

[rockstark]

[yes, yes he does, because THAT IS YOUR JOB]

Where's my stuff?

[rockstark]

[COUGH. which is not suspicious at all and is totally just booze going down the wrong tube]

Uh, surveillance. Really important surveillance. Classified.

[ms_potts]

[No. THIS is her job. Her job that you are currently interrupting. She sighs and looks up, giving him a look]

You'll have to be more specific than that.

[hulk]

Classified, really important surveillance. That you're going and asking about... On here. You know. The public forum.

[ uh. huh. ]

[notmyfirstrodeo]

You can't really blame her for trying to keep you organized. Focused.

[Don't scold his hero, Tony. She's a saint.]

video;

[doyoufondue]

Your robot can hold glasses? And he doesn't spill it! [ robots delicate enough with things to hold cups! this is the most fascinating thing--

--wait that wasn't the focus of this post, was it? ]

[rockstark]

Hence the vagueness. C'mon, follow along with the rest of the class.

[rockstark]

The stuff you deleted, according to Jarvis' records, approximately [time frame here] ago.

[pointed look]

That stuff.

[rockstark]

[thanks to months' experience in Coulson banter, Tony reads the subtle nuances like Johnny Five reading Hooked On Phonics.

YOU put her up to this didn't you... right. betraying nothing. banter onward, ye brave Lord Stark]

Noted, but there's a lot of subtle nuance in what I do, what's involved. The kind of resources I need.

[ms_potts]

[She turns off the screen of her PDA and lowers it, crossing her hands in front of her and smiling innocently at Tony]

You mean the incredibly embarrassing photos and video you had of Agent Coulson that you were holding onto for amusement at his expense? That stuff?

[rockstark]

What, Dummy? Yeah, he's - all kinds of useful --

[and then Dummy goes to wave and spills half the drink]

-- sometimes. Look at that. What is that. Why would you -- gimme that back, you are a tragedy.

[cue one very droopy repentant robot arm]

[rockstark]

[uh oh. ABORT MISSION, ABORT ABORT ABORT]

Could'a been. It was a surveillance folder. I had important stuff in there.

[notmyfirstrodeo]

[Oh dear they're becoming fluent, huh?]

I assume that's why you have someone so capable as Ms. Potts on the task.

Subtle isn't the word that comes to mind when your name pops up in conversation though. Or nuance.

[ms_potts]

[The smile stays put as she watches him. Tony? Squirming? Oh this is fun]

Oh really. And what sort of "surveillance" are you doing that includes photos like that? [She quirks an eyebrow. Can't you just HEAR those air quotes, Tony?]

[rockstark]

It was a comprehensive capture of the running feed, Pep, c'mon. [he rolls his eyes]

And it's only "at his expense" if I was actively blackmailing him, which you know we don't do unless the blackmailee's last name is Stern or Hammer.

[rockstark]

[his Coulson is better than Banner's Portuguese, let's put it that way]

Then you're clearly conversing with the wrong people. You SHIELD guys, you're always getting my bad side, why is that? You should fire your photographer, metaphorically speaking. I mean - not that I want Agent Moose n' Squirrel to lose her job or anything, not really, but - she was hardly everywhere I was, there's no way she got a comprehensive picture of the multi-faceted diamond in the rough that is me.

[ms_potts]

Mm-hmm. Of course it was. For your information I didn't go rooting through your surveillance folder. I didn't even know you had a surveillance folder until now.

[Thank you for that, Tony, now she has something ELSE to look out for. Her smile dims a little and she tilts her head slightly, looking at him.]

I ran a search for those specific images so I could get rid of them. You don't need those pictures or the video for anything, whether you were planning to blackmail him or not.

[rockstark]

[smile wattage dropping: warning! warning! he makes a face]

Pepper. Come on. What - what is th-- Pep. [he moves in to block the attack, reaching out to put a hand on her arm] Don't make this one of those No Talking To Tony things. You know I hate those things, I know you hate those things, they're no fun for anyone. It's not such a big deal!

[and the way he says it? it's kind of obvious that he genuinely doesn't think it is. why would he? the man's spent almost every waking minute of his life being followed by cameras, thanks to his Dad's legacy, and all...]

[notmyfirstrodeo]

It's a conundrum. Maybe you should turn around more often. [He half smiles here.] Agent Romanoff's insight is usually spot on.

Diamonds in the rough are notoriously hard to profile.

[rockstark]

[and this, Coulson, THIS? is why he will never get along with you. right here. his cocky smirk fades, and something in his eyes burns a little. just enough]

You just don't get it. Do you.

[he pulls down the neck of his tank top just a little]

What this costs. You don't. All you guys see is the suit. Period.

[ms_potts]

[She relaxes at the touch, sighing softly.]

Maybe not to us [She who has spent an increasing amount of time being followed by cameras thanks to Tony] but it's a big deal for him. Tony he was about to confine himself to a basement until people forgot about it.

[She meets his eyes trying to convey just how much of A Big Deal it was]

[rockstark]

No he wasn't, that was just him being --

[wait. that look... he knows that look. he squints. wait, people really take this stuff THAT badly? from the look on his face, he's having a hard time believing it]

-- being facetious, right?

[ms_potts]

[The look on her face says it all. No, Tony. No he wasn't.]