2013.06.17 - A Home-Cooked Meal

Sunday afternoon. Father's Day. Probably a day that means more to most people than those gathered here, but maybe that's the point. Since her own father passed away a few years back, Pepper has made it a point of spending the day with other people that are important to her. Her first thought was to celebrate the day with Tony as has become her new tradition (even though it's very likely he's never actually realized it), but this year has some added bonuses. Howard deserves some consideration on this day as well, and it's just a happy coincidence that an email from Selina was perfectly timed to count her in on the 'festivities'. And what makes this day's invitation to join her for a meal more noteworthy than any other day? This is one of maybe four times each year that Pepper really takes the time to cook.
And, for the first time, she's invited everyone to her apartment for the meal. The place is by no means a dive, but it's entirely average compared to everything in the Tower. The furniture is of good quality without being hideously expensive, a small stereo system playing music softly in the living room. The entire apartment is filled with the aroma of cooking food, and the front door is unlocked.
Selina's one of those who is content to let Father's Day pass thanks to how the memories of her dad are anything but happy, the memories as deserving of being forgotten as is the man who sired her is. But where she's not exactly wanting to dwell on that today she did want to see some friends she hasn't seen in a long time, hence the aforementioned email she shot to Pepper.
The time to arrive comes and Sel's knocking on the door, awaiting for Pepper to answer. She's dressed casually in a nice pantsuit of charcoal gray wool with a cream-colored silk blouse worn under the jacket. And of course she's wearing heels.
Tony Stark has been out with his dad today. It's a novelty, and something he hasn't experienced before. They walked through central park, and Tony showed him more of the ways Midtown has changed since his father had been reawakened. The afternoon ends with the two of them arriving last, knocking at Pepper's door. Tony, is dressed casually. Leather racing jacket, V-cut long sleeve shirt under it with the glowing arc reactor shining under the center of the chest, jeans and biking boots. His dad is dressed like his dad always does. However that is.
Which is to say, Howard is dressed in a classically conservative manner, though he's experimented with breaking that mold a little bit. And seeing as it wasn't an office day, that means a deep blue buttonup with a faint sheen, and a pair of dark slacks. After an intern in the lab told him he looked like an old man with it touched in (ouch) he's started to leave it untucked and has even rolled up the sleeves. He's carrying a bag from a wine store. "You really didn't ask her what she was cooking? You /do/ understnad what a wine pairing is, don't you?" He shakes his head and enters the apartment behind his son.
Pepper Potts is dressed VERY casually as it's her home, currently padding around barefoot in yoga pants and a slightly food-splattered overlarge dark blue t-shirt with the words 'wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey' printed on it. She hurries out of the kitchen to answer the door and let Selina in with a smile and a careful hug. Don't want to share the food splatters. "Hi. Thank you so much for dropping by. Please, come in and make yourself at home." Of course, Tony and Howard arrive in time for the front door to still be open, so she waves for them to come on inside before all the bread and pot roast aromas escape the apartment. "Howard, Tony, I'm so glad you both could make it. Selina, this is Howard, a relative of Tony's. Howard, Selina is a friend of Tony's and mine." Quick introductions, done.
The hug is returned warmly and then is given to Tony, the embrace he gets from Selina being a bit more... well, intimate than the one she just gave Pepper. "I didn't know what to bring, I'm sorry," she apologizes sheepishly before turning slightly, giving Howard quite a bit of a looking over. "Well, hello there," she almost purrs out, the seductive tone slipping out before she can stop herself. A hand is offered, palm down and fingers curled in, the back of it offered to be kissed if he's so inclined to greet a woman in such a manner. "Selina Kyle. Pleasure meeting you, Howard." At least she stops herself before she uses the cheesey 'any friend of Pepper and Tony's is a friend of mine' line.
The scent of food gets her attention and she looks at their hostess, her smile widening. "That smells positively divine, Pepper. Do you need any help with anything?"
Tony Stark glances over to Howard as they enter Pepper's place, "I know what a wine pairing is, I simply choose to ignore them is all." and then finds Selina there and smiles. He gives the woman a lingering hug before she greets Howard and cocks his eyebrow in amusement at the tone of her greeting. He chuckles softly, "Dad picked out a bottle of something..I didn't know what you were making so I just brought me." a micro-beat pause, "And him, of course."
"Two bottles of something. Tony's a philistine when it comes to anything other than good scotch. At least he's got one thing right. Pepper, I've got two of each of French chardonnay and a Chilean Cab. Hello..." Howard turns his attention to Selina. Normally he wouldn't hand-kiss in company like this, but something about this particular woman compels him to. "Miss Kyle. A pleasure."
Pepper Potts simply smiles and takes the bottles from Howard. "We'll make them work. And if nothing else, I'll fix a pitcher of iced tea." An electronic chirp from the kitchen has her glancing over her shoulder. "Speaking of, I'd better go check on dinner. Please, everyone, make yourselves at home." And with that, she disappears into the kitchen to make sure nothing is burning.
"Dad?" Selina looks at Tony and arches a brow at him much like she did when she said hello to Howard. It's a clear tell that she's a bit confused. "I... huh." The hand that Howard just kissed is slid gently out from his as she takes a step back, her head angled just to the left. "I am sure the wines will work," she eventually offers lamely, that said in lieu of anything else to say.
Tony Stark shrugs a little, "It's a long story, remind me to tell you the next time we go out. But. Yeah." he smirks between the two, seeing Selina flummoxed is almost worth it. He finds a place to sit and relaxes, propping his foot up on his leg.
"Please do keep me in the loop about who knows my secret. Otherwise it could be embarrassing," Howard smiles a little bit as Selina backs away. "Howard Stark, Miss Kyle. You may have heard of me. The short version of my story is that my consciousness was dormant in an android body until my son found the lab and woke me up. With the way the world is nowadays, you read stranger things than that in the Sunday paper."
Pepper Potts calls out from the direction of the kitchen, "Would anyone like anything to drink while I'm in here?" From the shifting aromas, the meal is nearing readiness and Pepper verifies this by starting to set items on the table including bottles of salad dressing and a tub of butter.
There's a rustling at the door, scratching, and then it opens. A yellow blur runs past everyone, into the kitchen, and then Clint is halfway through the door, bag over his arm and plastic container in his hand as he pries his key from the lock. Whoops. It was unlocked the whole time! "Hey, Pep, sorry I'm late. I-"
He looks up and stops mid-sentence, mentally flailing for a second, and then continues, "had no idea you had company. Uh. Hi." He closes the door with his foot and looks between Tony, Howard, and lady-he-doesn't-recognize. For a very awkward moment, he just stands there, before shuffling into the kitchen after his dog silently.
Tony Stark cocks an eyebrow, as Clint comes in after having unlocked the door. He looks to Pepper and smirks, "You gave him a key? Must be serious." he says with a 'mmHmm' kinda tone. "Once and Every Other Agent Barton," he says by way of greeting. He holds up a hand when Pepper asks about drinks, "Uh, no thanks. I might drink something healthy by mistake here." he smirks over at Selina and winks before glancing at Howard.
"A glass of ice water with lemon if that'll be alright, please?" Still a bit baffled, Selina's request for her drink comes a bit after Clint's arrival, the abruptness of which has her yelping. The dog is looked at warily before she gives the newly arrived a wave but it's probably easy to tell that Sel is distracted. "Wait. You're his..." She points to Tony and mouths the word 'father' in case Clint is one of the ones not in the know. Best to err on the side of caution. "And Tony, don't look so self-satistified, damnit."
Howard Stark follows the blur's progress to the kitchen, then traces it back to the source. He nods as Clint comes through the door, then looks back to Selina. "I am. It's quite jarring to you. Imagine how I feel. I look younger than he does by a good ten years." He claps Tony on the shoulder, then heads towards the kitchen. "I'll play bartender, shall I, Pepper? Seems like you've got your hands full."
The yellow blur elicits a surprised sound from Pepper still in the kitchen, then the repeated thunks of a canine tail hitting kitchen cupboard doors in excitement. "Hi, Clint. Did you remember to bring whipped cream?" is called out from the kitchen, followed almost immediately by, "Yes, hi, sweetie, I see you too. Now shoo, go on, out of the kitchen. If I trip over you, it'll be bad for both of us."
And then Howard is offering to bartend, which is actually rather appreciated. She's just pushing a dish of mashed potatoes further back on the counter to keep it out of doggie-reach, and in her other hand is a pitcher of water, Selina's glass with a lemon wedge already waiting on the counter. "Thank you, Howard."
Tony Stark rolls his eyes at Howard. "Looks aren't everything, besides, at least I'm not grey." - he runs a hand through his hair. He looks to Selina, shrugging, "It's hard not to. It's a natural state, I fully admit. Awesome objects stay awesome, even at rest." he relaxes in his seat even more. A look is given into the kitchen as he watches the dog. He can't help but chuckle, "I tend to think me and him are gonna get along."
Selina drifts over towards the kitchen, needing to do so to give herself a bit of time to think. She sidles over towards Pepper and gives her a look. "Tony's doing it again, Pep. Make him stop, please." The plea is given playfully. Selina wouldn't change Tony for the world. "You and Howard will have to explain it to me in-depth sometime." Pause. A hand juts out, offered to the newest guest. "Hi. I'm Selina. Nice to meet you..."
Arrow is way too happy to see Pepper for him to shoo. In fact, even when Clint comes into the kitchen, he's still looking up at Pepper with his one good eye, tongue lolling out of his mouth, tail wagging. "You heard her," Clint tells him, then "Skedaddle. Out." It takes a nudge of his foot to get Arrow out, and Clint tosses a dog toy (frisbee that looks like a pizza) after him to keep him out there. He takes it under the table to chew on.
"Me? Forget something?" The whipped cream is /totally/ not the reason why he's late. Clint sets his bag aside and puts the container on the counter. German chocolate cake. "I feel like you're just using me for my neighbor's baking skills." He's just opened it to stare longingly at it, doing his very best not to dip a finger into the frosting, when someone else has joined them in the kitchen, and he turns. "Oh. Hey. I'm Clint." Hands are shaken, and then that's her drink, isn't it, so he hands it to her. "Nice to meet you too."
"Wait for it," says Howard over his shoulder to Tony. He points to his temples. The elder Stark started going gray right around there. He pours Selina's water and then hands it to her. He's about to ask the others what they'd like when his cell phone makes a rather urgent-sounding noise. He frowns and pulls it out, then scrolls down at the message that just came in. The frown deepens. "I'm terrible. I have to go," he murmurs as he reads more closely. "It's far too complicated to get into, but if I don't go and take care of this, the company might lose four months' worth of careful work. I believe Tony and Pepper can excuse me on those grounds. I'll try and make it back. Pepper, so very sorry." If she doesn't object, he'll move to her to kiss her (platonically) on the cheek. "Everything does smell very good. Miss Kyle, a pleasure to meet you. Mister Barton, I've got some things for you to test when you've got time. No dogs allowed, I'm afraid. Tony..." he stops in front of his son. For a moment, it looks like he might actually say something warm and fuzzy. Instead, "See you Monday." There's another shoulder-clap, before he's heading for the door.
Pepper Potts is momentarily overwhelmed by all of the people (plus the dog) that converged in her kitchen, but then when Howard gets that message and says he has to go, she's understandably disappointed but not too much so to refuse the man's giving her a kiss on the cheek. She spends a moment watching the man flee but then gives herself a mental shake. "Okay, everything's ready, so unless you want to help carry things to the table, you might want to get out of the way." Thankfully the dog listens to Clint, because she clearly had not been getting Pizza Dog to move.
Tony Stark looks a little crestfallen, but the expression lasts .5 seconds before Tony nods. "Right. Well, instead of that call me in an hour or two with a status report. I have some things to go over with you later." he watches his dad go, before actually going into the kitchen to (gasp!) actually help bring things to the table. He takes a second to look under the table, "Arrow, huh? You look like a pizza dog to me." he says thoughtfully. He reaches out and if Arrow lets him, he skrtiches behind one of the ears before resuming his course to help. He looks over his shoulder towards Selina, "It's an interesting story, best told after four or five scotches and at least a Sci-Fi marathon of some kind."
Sel might be a guest but she's willing to help and is soon busying herself with helping Pepper bring things to the table. "It is nice to meet you, Clint... God, Pepper. This all smells so wonderful. I foresee seconds in my furture." Whatever she gathered is set down but she refrains from sitting, instead opting to wait till everyone's ready before claiming a chair for herself. Tony's given a nod, one that's a bit understanding in nature despite the strangeness the statement is borne from. "We should arrange for that. How about my place sometime soon?"
And of course Selina bids Howard farewell, complete with a smile and a touch to his arm before her hands are filled with platters or bowls.
Clint's already out of the kitchen, bowl of mashed potatoes in hand. "Hothothothothot," he hisses, and once he's got it on the table, he pulls his hands away and waves them, grimacing. Yep. That was hot. Probably should've grabbed a towel. "Later, H. I'll be around."
After accepting skritches (which he will never turn down) Arrow returns to gnawing on his pizza, but Clint leans over and snaps his fingers, before hooking his thumb over his shoulder. "C'mon, people want to sit down." Arrow dutifully picks up his frisbee and relocates to the afghan spread out on the sofa specifically for him. It's his blanket.
"Good dog."
Pepper Potts is only too glad that everyone's willing to help, and has Selina carry out the bread and salad after Clint's taken the mashed potatoes. She deftly opens the wine bottles, and then gives Tony the honor of carrying the Dutch oven pot roast to the table. Careful, it's particularly heavy. She sets the wine bottles on the table then pulls the fifth place setting from the table to make more room, already mentally planning to make sure Howard gets leftovers. Then she claims a seat at the table and waits for everyone else to do the same.
Tony Stark carries the pot roast to the table and sets it down carefully on whatever Pepper has laid down for it to rest on. Duties done, he figures out wherever Selina is gonna sit and takes the one next to her. He does take a moment to take off his bike jacket and drape it on the back of the chair he's sitting in.
Selina makes herself at home and gives everyone a smile. "This is wonderful. Can't think of the last time I've had a home cooked meal like this." She makes sure the bread and salad are placed where everyone can reach them easily. "Pepper, you never told me you can cook. I might have to take some lessons from you."
Clint's sitting next to Pepper, it seems, and it's not long before Arrow has snuck off his blanket and is laying underneath Clint's chair. "Yeah. Sure beats pizza every night, right?"
Underneath him, Arrow whines.
"Thanks, Pepper. Really. Even if some of us are ungrateful." He nudges Arrow with his foot, lightly.
"I can't even imagine eating pizza every day." Pepper makes a 'bleh' expression, then starts serving up the pot roast. "And Selina, I'm really not that good at cooking. I looked up this recipe online yesterday, I've never cooked pot roast before. So, um, I hope it tastes as good as it smells." At the whine from under Clint's chair she smiles. "I have a treat for Arrow, by the way. Should it wait until we're all done eating?"
Tony Stark is skeptical, but it turns out to be a pretty damn decent pot roast. Dinner is a lingering, casual affair. There are stories, laughs, smiles and slipping a morsel here and there under the table to Arrow. As the meal itself winds down, he finds himself leaning back in his chair and smiling.
When Tony reclines slightly Selina leans in and smiles, wrapping her arms around him as she does. "That was wonderful, Pepper," she purrs just about. A quick glance is given to the canine who actually gets a fond smile out of the self-admitted cat person. "Hm. I hate to eat and run but I just remembered I got a video call with the CEO of a company in Japan. They're willing to donate a million dollars but we need to hammer out some of the logistics before we can make it happen." Rising, she gives Tony a peck on the cheek and Pepper a hug while Clint's offered a hand yet again. "Thank you for the lovely meal and the wonderful company. I do hope we can do this again."
Even if it was awful pot roast, it'd be an actual home-cooked meal, and Clint never complains about those. As it is, it's actually really good, and he cleans his plate- well, beside the few pieces he's snuck under the table. His pooch is just as happy with Pepper's cooking as he is. "Good luck," and a handshake is given to Selina before she leaves, and then Clint gets up, gathering the dirty plates. "Thanks, Pep. I'll take care of these, and then Arrow needs a walk."
Arrow is already at the door with his leash waiting at his feet. Actually, dishes have to wait until he gets back. When a dog's gotta go, a dog's gotta go.
Pepper Potts smiles and returns Selina's hug. "You are most welcome, and we definitely need to do this again. And if that deal falls through, give me a call right away. Okay?" She rises as well and notices Arrow already by the door. "Go take care of Arrow. I can handle the dishes. Tony, do you want a refill?" She means his beverage.
Tony Stark shakes his head, giving Sel a return peck on the cheek. "Give 'em hell." he says softly to her as she makes ready to go. "I'll give you a call tomorrow." he gets up, smiling at Arrow already to be walked. "I'll chip in on the dishes, should be all set by the time you get back, Clint."
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