Hushed Willows I hate job hunting.

His response was somewhat expected, but not the speed with which he advanced, nor the actual physical contact. Pepper knew him to be volatile in the sense that arrogant men always were; she did not expect to be held, to have her space invaded. When he bantered back, she thought maybe things were back to normal. That nothing bad had happened while she was away — but when Pepper took a step back to actively study Stark, she saw too many red flags.

Instead of pointing out what she saw, she chose to focus on what Stark was saying. It was depressing to think of her failure, but it happened, and she'd get over it. Pepper sighed deeply prior to responding. I gave it one last shot, but no. I haven't seen anyone matching his description, and nobody in the immediate area has either - or they lied. Either way. Her shoulders shifted nonchalantly, and with a small sniff she raised her head so as to appear normal again. 

No more moping. That's what she'd tell herself. No more being a sad sack, pining after a guy that had other priorities. She had to be normal, she had to be her old proud, powerful self again. How's things on the home front? She queried, trying to sound more chipper and more like Pepper, but it was hard.