Stark Tower was huge, apparently not because it was supposed to be intimidating, but because Tony Stark wanted the best views of the city from his apartment at the very top. Lucy, suffice it to say, wasn't impressed. To her less than forgiving eye, it looked as though Howard Stark's only son - playboy, entrepreneur, genius, moron - had erected his very own phallic symbol, right in the heart of New York. And to think, this is my brother, she thought to herself as she joined the crowds that seemed to be constantly moving in and out of the building. Shouting out what a massive manhood he has with architecture. She smirked to herself; how on Earth could this man possibly be related to her quiet twin"
It took her a few minutes to find the main reception desk, but she was pleasantly surprised to find that the women working that desk were polite and sunny in their outlook, quickly ascertaining that, yes, she did have an appointment to see Ms Virginia Potts, though she was a little early. Noting the prominent mound of Lucy's pregnancy, one of the security men was called to escort her to the elevator and see her safely to Ms Potts' office, where apparently Ms Potts' P.A. was waiting for her. She was a little nonplussed by this, since she was only here because Pepper Potts had written to her with an invitation to come to the Tower. Lucy had assumed this was because Tony was either too proud to actually contact his half-sisters himself, or because he was dragging his heels about coming to any decision at all. By all accounts, Pepper ran his life for him; why shouldn't she mediate this, too"
The ride upward in the elevator was more than a little unnerving. For one thing, half of it was glass, letting her see a little too much of the ground floor that was dropping away at an alarming rate; for another, it seemed to be taking a minor ice age to reach the appropriate floor, giving her far too much time to think. She had a feeling Steve wasn't going to be very happy with her for doing this without him. He'd been staunchly on the side of getting Tony back in contact with his half-sisters, almost from the word go, but Lucy had chosen to come and meet Pepper on her own. That was probably going to hurt her husband's feelings, but at the same time ....what if Tony was there" She'd heard enough about him to know that he was bound to insult her at some point, and she really didn't want Steve to jeopardize his albeit uneasy friendship with Tony just because he couldn't keep a lid on it.
When, finally, they reached the right floor, she found herself escorted to a modest office suite, where a P.A. who was almost as efficient as Liv assured her that Ms Potts would be with her in just a few minutes. She was told to make herself comfortable, which she did, sinking gratefully into a couch that was set against a windowed wall. She loved being pregnant - far more than she'd ever expected to - but it was becoming a bit of a burden to keep on her feet these days. She couldn't believe she still had at least 6 more weeks before she was due. How much bigger was she going to get"
"Doctor Rogers" I'm Pepper Potts. I'm ....I'm very pleased to meet you."
Drawn out of her contemplation of her belly, Lucy looked up to find herself addressed by a tall blonde woman with kind eyes, a warm smile, and what had to be the most business like business suit she had ever seen. Momentarily, she glanced down at her comfortable pants and top, aware that she hadn't really dressed to the nines, but Lucy wasn't the sort to worry over what she was wearing. No doubt Liv would have dressed up, but Liv was infinitely more careful with her appearance than Lucy had ever been. She smiled, making the effort to get herself off the couch without grunting or groaning, and offered her hand to Pepper, who took it with a smile of her own, inviting her into the office beyond.
"I haven't had a chance to contact you before now, I'm afraid," Pepper apologized as she settled them both into comfortable seats away from the desk that dominated the room. "Congratulations on your marriage, again, and on the upcoming birth." There was an infinitesimal pause, and she suddenly blurted out, "Do you know what it is yet?"
Lucy couldn't help it; she laughed, already pleased with Pepper Potts. They'd met, albeit briefly, at her wedding, and she was very glad to note that her initial impression of the woman had not been wrong. "Thank you, Ms Potts," she smiled through her laughter, shifting her weight to be a little more comfortable in the chair she'd been ensconced in. "We do, actually. We're expecting a son in July."
"Captain Rogers must be very excited," was Pepper's answer to that, her own smile touched with laughter now. They were both nervous, it seemed, and that was coming out in wide smiles and just a hint of hysterical giggles.
"He is," Lucy assured her, making an effort to calm down. "Please, just call me Lucy. I'm still getting used to being Doctor Rogers. Oh, and I wanted to thank you - and Mr ....Tony - for arranging our honeymoon. It was beautiful."
Pepper seemed to relax as this offering was made, drawing in a deep breath of her own. "I'm very glad you enjoyed it," she replied warmly. "It was Tony's idea. And please, I'm Pepper. After all, we're ....well, I suppose you could say we're almost family."
Lucy tensed just a little; she hadn't been expecting the gentle segue into the meat of the conversation so soon. But she kept up her smile, glancing around a little awkwardly. "Should I offer you congratulations on your engagement, then?" she asked, still avoiding coming right out and saying what had actually brought the two women together.
Pepper's smile softened for a moment, her eyes flickering down to the ring on her left hand, but she didn't answer the question. It was something, it seemed, that was going to stay very private, as suited the CEO of Stark Industries. "Lucy ....I wanted to apologize for how long it's taken for you to have any kind of response to the package you sent to Tony," she said, uncomfortable but apparently blazing onward in spite of it. "The contents were shocking, especially to a man who has believed himself to be all alone in the world for decades."
"It hasn't been any easier for us." Lucy had to stop herself there. She could feel herself already growing annoyed with the implication that somehow the great Tony Stark's feelings on this matter were more important than those of herself and her sister. "We're not expecting anything, Pepper. We thought he had a right to know, that maybe he might like to meet what?s left of his family. But he needs to make a decision, soon. The silence is really hurting my sister, and I won't let that go on."
Pepper almost winced, evidently a good deal more empathetic than she liked to let on. "I can understand where you're coming from, Lucy, but Tony's a difficult personality to work around sometimes," she tried to explain. "Just because he isn't open to meeting you or your twin right now doesn't mean he won't change his mind a few months down the line. I'm finding it hard to predict in this case just which way he's going to go."
It took her a few minutes to find the main reception desk, but she was pleasantly surprised to find that the women working that desk were polite and sunny in their outlook, quickly ascertaining that, yes, she did have an appointment to see Ms Virginia Potts, though she was a little early. Noting the prominent mound of Lucy's pregnancy, one of the security men was called to escort her to the elevator and see her safely to Ms Potts' office, where apparently Ms Potts' P.A. was waiting for her. She was a little nonplussed by this, since she was only here because Pepper Potts had written to her with an invitation to come to the Tower. Lucy had assumed this was because Tony was either too proud to actually contact his half-sisters himself, or because he was dragging his heels about coming to any decision at all. By all accounts, Pepper ran his life for him; why shouldn't she mediate this, too"
The ride upward in the elevator was more than a little unnerving. For one thing, half of it was glass, letting her see a little too much of the ground floor that was dropping away at an alarming rate; for another, it seemed to be taking a minor ice age to reach the appropriate floor, giving her far too much time to think. She had a feeling Steve wasn't going to be very happy with her for doing this without him. He'd been staunchly on the side of getting Tony back in contact with his half-sisters, almost from the word go, but Lucy had chosen to come and meet Pepper on her own. That was probably going to hurt her husband's feelings, but at the same time ....what if Tony was there" She'd heard enough about him to know that he was bound to insult her at some point, and she really didn't want Steve to jeopardize his albeit uneasy friendship with Tony just because he couldn't keep a lid on it.
When, finally, they reached the right floor, she found herself escorted to a modest office suite, where a P.A. who was almost as efficient as Liv assured her that Ms Potts would be with her in just a few minutes. She was told to make herself comfortable, which she did, sinking gratefully into a couch that was set against a windowed wall. She loved being pregnant - far more than she'd ever expected to - but it was becoming a bit of a burden to keep on her feet these days. She couldn't believe she still had at least 6 more weeks before she was due. How much bigger was she going to get"
"Doctor Rogers" I'm Pepper Potts. I'm ....I'm very pleased to meet you."
Drawn out of her contemplation of her belly, Lucy looked up to find herself addressed by a tall blonde woman with kind eyes, a warm smile, and what had to be the most business like business suit she had ever seen. Momentarily, she glanced down at her comfortable pants and top, aware that she hadn't really dressed to the nines, but Lucy wasn't the sort to worry over what she was wearing. No doubt Liv would have dressed up, but Liv was infinitely more careful with her appearance than Lucy had ever been. She smiled, making the effort to get herself off the couch without grunting or groaning, and offered her hand to Pepper, who took it with a smile of her own, inviting her into the office beyond.
"I haven't had a chance to contact you before now, I'm afraid," Pepper apologized as she settled them both into comfortable seats away from the desk that dominated the room. "Congratulations on your marriage, again, and on the upcoming birth." There was an infinitesimal pause, and she suddenly blurted out, "Do you know what it is yet?"
Lucy couldn't help it; she laughed, already pleased with Pepper Potts. They'd met, albeit briefly, at her wedding, and she was very glad to note that her initial impression of the woman had not been wrong. "Thank you, Ms Potts," she smiled through her laughter, shifting her weight to be a little more comfortable in the chair she'd been ensconced in. "We do, actually. We're expecting a son in July."
"Captain Rogers must be very excited," was Pepper's answer to that, her own smile touched with laughter now. They were both nervous, it seemed, and that was coming out in wide smiles and just a hint of hysterical giggles.
"He is," Lucy assured her, making an effort to calm down. "Please, just call me Lucy. I'm still getting used to being Doctor Rogers. Oh, and I wanted to thank you - and Mr ....Tony - for arranging our honeymoon. It was beautiful."
Pepper seemed to relax as this offering was made, drawing in a deep breath of her own. "I'm very glad you enjoyed it," she replied warmly. "It was Tony's idea. And please, I'm Pepper. After all, we're ....well, I suppose you could say we're almost family."
Lucy tensed just a little; she hadn't been expecting the gentle segue into the meat of the conversation so soon. But she kept up her smile, glancing around a little awkwardly. "Should I offer you congratulations on your engagement, then?" she asked, still avoiding coming right out and saying what had actually brought the two women together.
Pepper's smile softened for a moment, her eyes flickering down to the ring on her left hand, but she didn't answer the question. It was something, it seemed, that was going to stay very private, as suited the CEO of Stark Industries. "Lucy ....I wanted to apologize for how long it's taken for you to have any kind of response to the package you sent to Tony," she said, uncomfortable but apparently blazing onward in spite of it. "The contents were shocking, especially to a man who has believed himself to be all alone in the world for decades."
"It hasn't been any easier for us." Lucy had to stop herself there. She could feel herself already growing annoyed with the implication that somehow the great Tony Stark's feelings on this matter were more important than those of herself and her sister. "We're not expecting anything, Pepper. We thought he had a right to know, that maybe he might like to meet what?s left of his family. But he needs to make a decision, soon. The silence is really hurting my sister, and I won't let that go on."
Pepper almost winced, evidently a good deal more empathetic than she liked to let on. "I can understand where you're coming from, Lucy, but Tony's a difficult personality to work around sometimes," she tried to explain. "Just because he isn't open to meeting you or your twin right now doesn't mean he won't change his mind a few months down the line. I'm finding it hard to predict in this case just which way he's going to go."