It’s kind of cute to watch them, if she disregards the fact that Tony spends even more time in the labs now. Hard enough she has to share him with a suit of armor and his obsession with the next shiny thing. But now she has to share him with a bumbling scientist who redefines the definition of a green-eyed monster.
It’s kind of cute.
Pepper smiles as she watches Tony and Bruce babble at each other in science-speak. She’s not an idiot. Far from it. She knows a thing or two about various scientific disciplines. Of course she’s not a genius on Tony or Bruce’s level, but she gets by.
Still, whatever they are talking about goes so far above her head, it might as well be dancing amongst the clouds.
She supposes that she’ll just have to get used to sharing. Tony’s never really had peers. Oh, there are people in the world that can match him for intellect, but he never got along with them. He never had any siblings and maybe he craved that, too. Real friends? Are few and far between for Tony. No wonder he’s latched onto Bruce.
Pepper raps on the doorway to get their attention. “Boys, time for dinner!” she calls out.
“Five more minutes,” Tony replies distractedly, peering closer at the schematics spread out across the table. “What if we shortened the distance between these two connectors?”
Bruce hums thoughtfully. “No. It wouldn’t work. There’d be too much interference.”
“You’re sure?”
“Ninety-nine point nine percent sure.”
Tony chuckles. “That’s not sure. We should try it and see.”
Bruce puts a palm on the diagram, pulling it out from under Tony’s scrutiny. “Do that and I’ll happily say ‘I told you so’ the first time you crash and burn.”
“I feel the love,” Tony retorts dryly. “No, really.” He pats his fist against his chest, right over the bright blue glow. “Right to my core.”
Bruce rolls his eyes, not at all taken in by Tony’s acting. “I’ll make sure not to express concern over your well-being next time.”
They could be at this all night.
Shaking her head, Pepper turns away, resigned to another evening of eating alone, catching up some paperwork, and crawling into bed early. And then, unsurprisingly, Tony will crawl into bed beside her at some ungodly time, all bright eyes and eager tones about some new gadget he and Bruce have created and Pepper will reap the benefits of his enthusiasm.
Hmm. Put in that way, maybe this new thing with Bruce living with them isn’t so bad at all. Quiet time has always been a premium around here, but with Bruce serving as a distraction, Pepper finds herself cleaning up after Tony less and less. She might even get to crack open the third book in her favorite series.
In a remarkably better mood now, Pepper grins as she climbs the stairs to the dining room. A nice quiet dinner then she can curl up with that book.
What a way to look on the bright side.
Pandora's Box 