And everyone, who didn't already have one... was given, a superpower.
...And we were given dogtags. To, um. [ he draws his out of his pocket to show her rather than explain. one side of the little tag said 'ned' and the other side 'the piemaker' ]
[ he follows her gaze and nods, putting the tags away with a swallow. ]
Yeah, it's... basically the same thing. Except there we had a whole City; a whole world to roam. I went to Yellowstone National Park once.
[ getting off message, he smiles sheepishly before looking back down at his hands in his lap. ] Tony was... there. I only knew him as Iron Man until this place, but. There's been a decent amount of overlap.
There are different... universes. Like the City, like the Tranquility - where people come in from all over. Except usually when one leaves a place like this - it's.
N-no-no, sorry, that wasn't-- [ he reached out for her hand but couldn't make it connect, hovering awkwardly. ] I just mean, someone. Someone like him.
He's important. He'll be back. [ his twitchy gaze slid up to hers as one dry palm settled over her hand. ] He has to come back.
[ ned nods, hastily, withdrawing his hand. he's always misreading the moment, saying the wrong thing. he gets up, suddenly, wringing his hands. ]
I should-- I just thought, the pie... [ would help ease your crippling worry and loneliness. yeah, something like that. he grimaced, looking at the door. ] He'll be okay, Pepper. The whole time stopping thing? I've seen it first-hand.
He won't be without you.
[ his eyes spoke volumes as they swiveled back to her face. you just have to be strong enough to be without him. ]
I've gone back. Just for a week. But everything was just exactly... how I left it. [ usually it didn't work that way for others but the principle was the same, no matter the duration. ] Home will wait for you. So will Tony.
[She stands and walks over to Ned, resting her hand on his arm. This must be harder on him then her. Tony at least still remembers her, but when they return back to their world they won't remember one another.]
[ it's interesting to know a woman as tall as pepper, that when he looks up he actually sees her eyes right in front of him. even zatanna in her heels isn't nearly as tall and it's strangly comforting? or something. it surprises him, in any case, the hand on his arm - and he looks at it as if he isn't sure how it could have possibly gotten there. ]
You have nothing to be-- it's. I was without Chuck for two years.
It gets easier. [ he looks back up into her eyes, a humorless smile taking his lips if only for a second. ] That was a lie. But sometimes it feels better.
I used to write Chuck letters. Maybe you could do that.
[When he mentions being without Chuck she frowns. No one should be without the person they love. At least not if anything can help it.]
I could write him memos, I guess.
[She presses her lips together with a sort of smile.]
He's always been good at ignoring my memos.
[It'd be easier if JARVIS were installed here. It would be someone familiar; someone who knew Tony as well as she did. At the same time though it was hard to think of the AI without it's creator. JARVIS without Tony just seemed off.]
[ he smiles even without knowing the joke. he understood how something inconsequential like that meant all the difference when you were missing someone with your whole heart. ]
I wrote about... everything. She would have loved the City. I often wished we could switch places, if we couldn't be there at once. But now I'm here and I got to tell her all about it anyway.
[ which is really, even better than being home and forgetting the best two years of his life. ]
So as much as I hate it when people say something like this... it's. Um. Things do work out, in the end. Almost always.
[She offers that sympathetic smile of hers. Ned is honestly one of the sweetest and most wonderful people she's met on this ship. One of the few who can and does relate to her.]
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Re: action.
Of course, have a seat.
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It was a city not unlike but not actually New York City. [ his hands dropped to his lap, fingers twitching slightly. ]
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...And we were given dogtags. To, um. [ he draws his out of his pocket to show her rather than explain. one side of the little tag said 'ned' and the other side 'the piemaker' ]
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Yeah, it's... basically the same thing. Except there we had a whole City; a whole world to roam. I went to Yellowstone National Park once.
[ getting off message, he smiles sheepishly before looking back down at his hands in his lap. ] Tony was... there. I only knew him as Iron Man until this place, but. There's been a decent amount of overlap.
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What do you mean?
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To go home. [ or die. ] But not always.
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So he could be somewhere else instead ... or somewhere worse ...
[Why is he telling her this? Why is she making this so much worse, making her worry that Tony is somewhere worse.]
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He's important. He'll be back. [ his twitchy gaze slid up to hers as one dry palm settled over her hand. ] He has to come back.
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Even if he's home he's not safe. There's so much he hasn't been through yet.
[SHe looks down at his hand on hers.]
I almost lost him Ned. That's what he's going back to.
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I should-- I just thought, the pie... [ would help ease your crippling worry and loneliness. yeah, something like that. he grimaced, looking at the door. ] He'll be okay, Pepper. The whole time stopping thing? I've seen it first-hand.
He won't be without you.
[ his eyes spoke volumes as they swiveled back to her face. you just have to be strong enough to be without him. ]
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[She looks up when he mentions having seen the time thing first hand, frowning. He's seen it first hand? How? How has he seen it?]
What do you mean you've seen it?
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It was like I never left. And all the letters I wrote, the journal I made...
[ gone. until he'd returned to the city. ]
What they say is true.
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So they're not trapped on the other side of the mirrors?
<small.[She's been thinking this for a long time.]
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Until you come back, and then. So do all the memories.
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I'm sorry Ned.
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You have nothing to be-- it's. I was without Chuck for two years.
It gets easier. [ he looks back up into her eyes, a humorless smile taking his lips if only for a second. ] That was a lie. But sometimes it feels better.
I used to write Chuck letters. Maybe you could do that.
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I could write him memos, I guess.
[She presses her lips together with a sort of smile.]
He's always been good at ignoring my memos.
[It'd be easier if JARVIS were installed here. It would be someone familiar; someone who knew Tony as well as she did. At the same time though it was hard to think of the AI without it's creator. JARVIS without Tony just seemed off.]
What did you write to her; to Chuck I mean?
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I wrote about... everything. She would have loved the City. I often wished we could switch places, if we couldn't be there at once. But now I'm here and I got to tell her all about it anyway.
[ which is really, even better than being home and forgetting the best two years of his life. ]
So as much as I hate it when people say something like this... it's. Um. Things do work out, in the end. Almost always.
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They do. Thank you Ned.
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I'll, um. Enjoy the pie!
[ he's gonna scoot out now. ]
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[She'll let him go.]
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