1963-07-08 - Workaholics
Summary: Two workaholics have a chance meeting at an after-hours diner.
Related: If there are no related logs, put 'None', — please don't leave blank!
Theme Song: None
pepper bruce 


Past midnight, but Schrafft's is a diner and good about being open almost all night, save a few wee hours for cleaning. Pepper has been trying to get information off of someone who was interested in getting something far different off of her in the most annoying ways, so the 'date' was a failure on all levels. She's tucked up at the counter, still in her dress from the night, a mod-styled red and black, blocky number which well shows off her willowy frame. She's poking lazily at a milk shake that doesn't seem near so interesting as when she ordered it, and has open a TOME in front of her. An electrical engineering tome, to be exact. It is an odd dichotomy.

*

Rest has become increasingly evasive for Doctor Banner. For months now, sleep has acted as an indiscriminate tease — luring him without really allowing him to find the peace he so desperately longs for. But then, the late hours of the night and wee hours of the morning are oft when his mind works its best work. Which is why, after staring at the ceiling for the better part of a half hour, Bruce twisted out of his bed, changed, and made his way to the street to find someplace to work.

This time of day, little is open, leaving Schrafft's and a dive bar down the block as his two options. Not wanting to give any sources of temptation to the other guy, Bruce opted for the diner.

His green button-up shirt, paired with brown slacks, leave the doctor relatively nondescript. In fact, nothing about him is particularly extraordinary, save for the few files tucked under his arm, and a pen that he, rather oddly, carries in his mouth much like a dog might a bone.

He treads to the counter, eyes honed in on a seat a polite three from Pepper — the nearest patron, and he lifts his head to catch the waitress's eye.

As she turns to consider him, he mumbles something around the pen, shakes his head (with a distinct, oh yeah, forgot that was there! expression), and draws it from his lips. With a sheepish smile and just a stitch of self-deprecation, he asks, "Just a coffee." Pause. "Please." His hand instinctively rises to cover his head, causing him to feel goosebumps form along the back of his neck. This is the first time in well over a year he's out and about without a ball cap on. He feels oddly naked.

*

As any woman alone in the city this late at night, Pepper is wary of her surroundings. But there is a waitress and, really, the moment she sees Bruce, that paranoia is disarmed. He looked sweet. Hell, a little scared himself. The redhead smiles a bit more, giving him an understanding, tired sort of gaze before she looks back down to the text book and releases a long sigh. "Tony… I don't know what the hell half this means…" She mutters herself, beneath her breath, as she tries to blink over a few more diagrams. She takes another sip of her coffee and murmurs to him, a bit louder, "You'll…probably want sugar. I think they've had the same pot on all day."

*

Settling into his seat, Bruce sets his manila envelopes on the counter in front of him, and sighs as he examines the thick stack of papers laying in wait in each. So much data, so little time. The waitress sets a cup of coffee in front of him — the distinctly white and yellow mug earns a small raise of Bruce's eyebrows. In a way, the colouring reminds him of bowling shoes; designed so no one would deign steal them.

Pepper's mention of sugar, however, calls Banner's attention away from the coffee towards her, to cast her a small, self-conscious smile of thanks. "Nothing like a cup of sludge to get the mental juices flowing," the smile, while weary, is genuine as he gives her a nod.

His neck cranes, and he attempts to peek at what she's reading. Catching sight of the cover, albeit briefly, he whistles sharply, "Complicated subject matter." His eyebrows draw together, "I never really liked Barker's explanation of series three circuitry." His lips purse, "Unless you're using the text to consider generators — " his hand waves slightly before he sips the coffee and makes a face.

Shaking once, he reaches for the sugar and begins pouring the sweetener indiscriminately.

*

"…depends if you call an arc reactor a generator." Pepper mutters, mostly to herself, but his hearing might be sharp enough to pick it up. And she's just tired, snarky enough, and angry with Tony that she said it. Of course, she's angry enough to be sitting here studying, trying to figure out how to help the man. She must be PISSED! She takes another good gulp of her coffee and rubs her free hand across her eyes, smudging some of her make up in a way that makes her look both younger and more tired somehow. How she was out on a night like this seems strangely impossible.

"…And yes, I hope the coffee helps you better. I got through business school but this… this is another level. I'll figure it out." She states with a half sigh, turning another page with a fresh frown of her half glossed lips. Perhaps it was too late to do this work.

*

Bruce rubs the back of his neck as Pepper fumes at the book in front of her. His tongue runs over his lips and he peeks down one side of the counter and then the other, checking if anyone else heard anything. His cheeks puff out with a heavy exhalation of breath and he cranes his neck to see what she's working on.

His eyes squint and he offers, "This," he points towards his own makeshift work, "isn't going anywhere anytime soon." He chews his bottom lip absently in consideration, "I could try to help you if you wanted." He lifts a single palm, "I am not exactly an expert in electrical engineering, I'm stronger in nuclear physics and biology, and it's been a few years since I took classes in it, but — " he squints again. "I might be of some help." And then, to set the expectation bar low, he adds, "Maybe."

*

As he mentions being an expert in biology, that actually surprises her. Biology and physics. Those slightly racoon smudged eyes blink up to him innocently, her head tilting to the side.

*

"…Biology AND nuclear physics? You must be some kind of genius. And…here I am, keeping you from your work. I'm sorry. I… I don't even really know what I'm doing. I'm just trying to get a better handle on things for my boss. He goes off on these… tangents…" Pepper shakes her head, the annoyance in her voice probably as much for her boss as the book in front of her. She then tilts her head, trying to look a bit more at his papers, just as curious. "What's keeping YOU up tonight, huh? Handsome man like you, no date?"

*

There's a small lift of Bruce's hand, and his eyes avert downwards at the thnotion of being a genius. With self-deprecating smile, and a modicum of doubt, he replies, "Nah. Some people are just more obsessed with their work than others." He nods at the notion of getting a handle on things for her boss and his lips twitch with the annoyance. "Tangents are a dime a dozen with people who read this," his eyes turn towards the book she's using. "Like I said, if I can help, I'm able."

His throat clears at he glances at the envelopes, and his lips twitch with a failed smile at the questions. His fingers protectively rest on top of the envelope and he muses as to why he's up so late, "Same as anyone, I guess. Just… thinking." The question about dates earns Pepper a mirthless chuckle, and a bashful tuck of Bruce's chin, "I'm pretty sure some of us are born too old to date."

*

"Yeah, I'm noticing…" Pepper mutters about the tangents being a dime a dozen. Then, honestly, she just gives up. She sighs, folds the book shut, and pushes it to the side. She's clearly too tired to make any sense of it and his company is far more interesting than fighting with engineering when she has a business degree. She scoops up her cold cup of coffee, taking another less than thrilled sip before she gives him a little, curious smile. The more he looks bashful, the more she's intrigued.

"…No, tell me. What are you thinking about? I can't think about this any more…I was off the clock six hours ago. Besides… you're never too old to date. I'm sure you'd be a better date than the jerk I was out with tonight." Pepper leans forward, just a bit, giving a rather nice view of other assets she has even as a few locks of red fall across her shoulder.

*

Heavy thoughts merit heavy sighs, and more sheepish grins. Bruce finally brings his coffee to his lips, this time cringing because of the sickly sweet that has now tainted his black brew. His lips press together into a thin line, thinking about his own thoughts. His head cants to the side in consideration, and then he offers, "Internal demons, I guess." He issues her a non-committal one shouldered shrug. His lips tighten into a grimace-like smile, and his finger serum on the side of the mug, "Some problems aren't easily solved by equations and formulas, and I'm afraid my own work hit a wall — " he swallows hard " — some years ago."

Pepper earns an easier smile at the thought about dating, "I haven't been on a date in some years. I guess maybe I'm hung up on 'the one that got away'." Although that's not exactly what happened. "It's interesting, I think we idealize relationships when they end before they have time to become normal. There's not arguments about leaving socks out. No disagreements around chores. Just the beginning — the part where everything is butterflies, nerves, and the excitement of the dance."

*

"Of course we do. The relationship gets to be whatever we dream of then, whatever our fantasies feel like torturing us with. Because none of us are good at being happy in our own damn minds, so we torture ourselves. I…I'm sorry you're still hung up like that. I should learn from it, really." Pepper mutters to herself, tossing a pale eyed look back down to her book, as if it were a part of the ball and chain of a relationship she shouldn't be holding. She takes another sip of her coffee before setting it down and sliding it forward to be refilled. "…Look at us. It's a Friday night. WE should both be out having fun, or…. baring that, *sleeping*. I know that is a novel idea." SHe deadpans the last bit.

*

"I think sometimes we aren't meant to move on," Banner suggests as he drums his fingers against the mug again. "Because those relationships weren't, they are what we want them to be. Hard to measure up to a ghost built up in a person's mind." He chuckles lightly, "Sleep is over-rated," Bruce mutters with a good humoured grin. "I don't think I've had a good night's sleep since the fifties. But then, I guess I don't need a lot of sleep to function." He sips his coffee again, "I'm pretty sure this is radioactive sludge."

*

A gentle shake comes to her head and Pepper actually shifts a bit closer, so she's on the stool next to him instead of several down. This close, she smells like vanilla and menthol cigarettes. It's a uniquely feminine scent, in it's own way. "No, no… it's not like that at all. We can't stay trapped in the past, or our own minds… We were meant to live. That much I can believe. I have to. What are we fighting for otherwise?" She offers gently, some genuine concern behind her voice for him now. Perhaps he was worse off than she. "Look, sorry… I… i don't meant to be intruding. I'm Pepper." She offers her small hand in his directio.

*

Banner's lips hitch up on one side and he offers a small, unconvinced, nod. "I don't know," he offers, "but letting go is not easy." There's a flicker of a smile at the notion of living, but Banner doesn't remark on it, possibly because he has spent the better part of a year testing the Hulk, purposely seeking out death.

The hand offered is received in a firm handshake. "Bruce." He blinks hard, "And why are you working so late? I hope you at least like what you're working on at this hour…"

*

The handshake is returned in a style that says, despite her dress and mod-hair, Pepper actually does know quite a bit about business and knows how to conduct herself through a firm, respectful grip alone. She doesn't let the shake last too long, keeping them both comfortable as her hands go back around the freshly refilled coffee mug.

*

"Bruce. It's good to meet you. Even if we're both half out of our minds right now." She knows the sleepless and half raving look, she's had it far too often as of late. She sighs at the question…"I… am trying to figure out what Tony Stark is putting together in that crazy head of his because, apparently, I am very bad at leaving work at work." She must work for Stark Industries. Hell, from the way she talks, she works for THE MAN himself.

*

As Bruce's hand returns to trace the lines of one of the envelopes resting atop the counter, his sleeve rolls upwards slightly, exposing the unusual watch-like device on his wrist. With another shake of his head, Bruce chuckles again. "I can't imagine trying to decipher what goes on in someone else's head; I'm not entirely sure what goes on in my own."

"And maybe you'd have made a good scientist. I'm telling you, all it takes is obsession and single-mindedness." He emits a soft sigh again. "So what is he like, this Tony Stark? I've heard some crackpot stories." He hmms quietly. "Any of them true?"

*

"Probably all of them." Pepper admits with a tone that is downright exhausted. "He's a genius too. Makes that damn book look like something school children should be reading. But he can't remember to change his own shirt, to drink something that isn't scotch, or when any of his appointments are. I don't know how he survived before I was his secretary." The tone of her voice is both fond and annoyed. She clearly cares for the man, she's studying up for him, but she also sounds like a woman who has been pushed to the edge for whatever reason. "…You know…if you're interested in science… Stark Industries is always hiring. Tony likes the company of geniuses."

*

"No one really likes the company of geniuses," Bruce offers as he downs the rest of his coffee only to wince after swallowing. The end is met with a shake of his head, "I have a job. Kind of." He blinks hard. "It's complicated." His lips purse again and he emits a soft sight, "Besides, I'm pretty sure your boss wouldn't want to hire me. Not all of us are willing to work wile six hours off the clock." Yet here he is, with work in front of him.

*

A single brow lofts and Pepper just stares down at the papers in front of him. Her perfectly pink lips pull into a firm smirk and she doesn't need to say a word, her glare is making her point for her. She clears her throat and sits back a bit deeper in her chair, crossing her long, toned legs in her somehow still unsnagged stockings. "How is it complicated? And, you'd be surprised… Have YOU spent much time in the company of other geniuses?" Pepper's nose wrinkles a bit at the thought of Tony. "…no. Maybe you are right. Geniuses are hard to deal with. But worth it. Normally."

*

"I… just started working with some people. Sort of." Bruce's tongue rolls over his lips. "It's complicated." He clears his throat, "I've been focused on a personal project for some time, and am doing what I can to… find a routine again." His eyebrows lift in silent consideration. "Geniuses have their own offerings, I suppose. And I imagine having so many around means opportunities to collaborate," collaboration isn't something Bruce has done much of for a long stretch. "But, as I said before, not a genius. Just… obsessed."

*

"I…disagree. I know the look in someone's eyes. I'm getting used to seeing it. If… if you decide you'd ever want to collaborate, give me a call? I will set it up." Pepper offers, reaching to her purse on the counter, pulling out one of her business cards. Virginia Potts, Executive Secretary, Stark Industries. It has a very nice phone number and proper type on it all. She hands him the card with a warmer smile. "Seriously. Tony doesn't doesn't really force people to work… regular hours. You could probably get away with a side project or five."

*

There's a smirk at the last followed by a small nod. "I'm not sure Mister Stark would have any interest in me." But just the same, for posterity's sake, and simply because he hasn't done it in years, Bruce writes out his name on a corner of his envelope and rips it off for Pepper, along with a phone number of his own. "If Mister Stark has a gamma radiation problem, I have something of a knack." He hasn't written either in years, and it feels weird to scribe the name Bruce Banner anywhere. Being on the lam certainly was an oddity. "Thank you, Pepper. I'll keep it in mind." But for now, he sets a few dollars down for his coffee, "I should call it a night, and try to lay the internal demons to rest," he grins, "until tomorrow, anyways."

*

Well, that was one way to get a guy's number. Pepper gives a quiet chuckle to herself, looking down to the paper. "Came out tonight hoping to maybe find a proper, nice guy to date while I was all dolled up. Got a guy's number. Ended up being entirely for work. Story of my life…" She gives him a wry smile, clearly no ACTUALLY hurt feelings. But she does take the piece of paper and tucks it securely in her purse to get back to the office. "Gamma Radiation. I will let him know. Thank you again, Bruce… the company was… Thoroughly pleasant. I hope you sleep well, eventually." It seems Pepper does't plan to leave yet, turning back to her coffee and book. A tired slant returns to her shoulders.

*

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